Germany’s domestic intelligence agency today officially designated the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a “proven extremist organization,” citing its anti-democratic ideology and ethno-nationalist worldview.

The ruling, which enables expanded surveillance and legal scrutiny, comes as the AfD continues to gain traction — finishing second in Germany’s February 2025 elections and dominating several eastern regions. While this classification may symbolically isolate the party, however, it is unlikely to slow its momentum. The AfD is not just a German phenomenon — it is the product of a transnational far-right movement anchored by Russia, aligned with Trump-era America, and ideologically shaped by leaders like Vladimir Putin and the recently deposed Bashar al-Assad.

The AfD long embraced Assad as a symbol of “strong” leadership. Despite his regime’s role in mass atrocities, AfD figures consistently framed him as a doughty defender of secular nationalism and a bulwark against Islamic extremism. This narrative, echoed by Russia and shared across the far-right spectrum, offered a model: the authoritarian leader who crushes dissent in the name of stability. Even after Assad’s fall in December 2024, he remains a far-right icon — proof, in their eyes, that brutal resolve is a virtue in leadership.

That worldview also helps explain why the AfD remains deeply aligned with Vladimir Putin, despite Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine and its own authoritarian crackdowns. Russian disinformation outlets have repeatedly amplified AfD messaging, while Kremlin-linked operatives have cultivated ties with the AfD’s leadership as part of a broader strategy to destabilize European democracy.

Across the Atlantic, prominent Trump-aligned figures like Elon Musk have given the AfD further legitimacy and media reach. Bannon’s attempts to build a “nationalist international” have included repeated praise for both Putin and Assad, and open collaboration with AfD figures. Musk spoke used his social media platform to promote the AfD’s message, host party leaders, and attack Germany’s pro-democracy institutions.

The AfD has also been vocal in its support for Israel, often competing with the increasingly right-wing German government in this regard, with many unsure whether the government is copying the AfD on this issue or vice versa. This support is not rooted in any actual rejection of antisemitism, with the AfD repeatedly downplaying or tolerating antisemitic rhetoric within its own ranks. Instead, its pro-Israel stance functions as both a political shield and an ideological alignment. Israel’s current far-right leadership — marked by ultranationalism, militarism, and ethno-religious identity politics — appeals to the AfD not despite its authoritarianism, but because of it. As with Trump, supporting Israel allows the AfD to proclaim itself as ‘moderate’, philosemitic, anti-fascist and committed to supposed “Western values,” while continuing to push a deeply illiberal agenda at home – this also benefits Israel by helping normalise its own murderous authoritarianism.

Germany’s designation of the AfD as an extremist threat is a vital acknowledgment of what many already knew. But defeating the far-right in Germany and elsewhere requires more than labels — it demands confronting the full panoply of authoritarian sympathies, of the normalisation of bigotry, of malign superpower influence, and strategic deceit that sustain it. Assad may be gone, but his loyalists and supporters and the authoritarian model he helped to normalize regionally and globally — with the support of Putin, the AfD and the far-right worldwide — is far from defeated.

Photo: AfD supporter Elon Musk addresses a rally in Halle, Germany via video link, January 2025