{"id":567,"date":"2025-11-17T15:10:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T20:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/migration-reporting2025\/?p=567"},"modified":"2025-11-17T15:10:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T20:10:34","slug":"the-alluring-alternative-why-real-men-are-voting-for-the-afd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/migration-reporting2025\/the-alluring-alternative-why-real-men-are-voting-for-the-afd\/","title":{"rendered":"The alluring Alternative; why \u201creal men\u201d are voting for the AfD"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christopher Tamm, 25, is sitting on a chair next to an anti-racism bench in Germany as he looks at the camera wearing sunglasses in an Instagram post dated March, 2025. In the caption, Tamm has included the calculation for the estimated cost for the \u201cso-called \u2018benches against racism: no room for racism\u2014for diversity!\u2019\u201d as he criticizes their installation using taxpayer money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In July, Tamm posted a photo of himself sitting on a couch, reading a book titled \u201cRemigration,\u201d and wearing a Make America Great Again hat. \u201cRemigration\u201d is a term used by the far-right to express support for state sanctioned mass deportation for immigrants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In mid-September, Tamm is pictured at a vigil for Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutska, with the caption #whitelivesmatter. In an accompanying post, Tamm says that Iryna did not receive public embrace after her death because she was white.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tamm\u2019s most popular post, which has received over two million views, was published in late January. In this compilation video, several people introduce themselves with their pronouns including they\/them, followed by Tamm\u2019s commentary that he is \u201cright (straight) and German.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tamm is one of many German social media influencers for the far-right Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party. The AfD party was formed in 2013 as a single-issue party in response to global financial crisis policies that provided bailouts for struggling countries. The AfD promoted beliefs of nationalism that have intensified over the years, with their focus shifting to immigration issues in 2015.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the Syrian Civil War, the German government had opened its doors to refugees seeking asylum. Many families were driven from their homes, and the Assad government tortured many who did not support the authoritarian regime. Almost 300,000 Syrian refugees <\/span>entered<\/span><\/a> Germany in 2015, with an overall 46% migration increase from 2014. Amid this major immigration influx, the AfD shifted focus to anti-immigration politics and began dramatically increasing their party support.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tamm resonates with key AfD messaging, specifically \u201cremigration.\u201d He feels that immigrants, specifically Muslim practicing immigrants, do not belong in German society.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you’re somebody who wants to wear a hijab, you don’t fit into Germany.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Though Germany does not recognize any specific religion, many women are discriminated against for wearing a hijab, and certain states have banned women from wearing hijabs in government, public education, and clerical positions. While Tamm believes a hijab is a symbol of female suppression, many Muslim women <\/span>disagree<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tamm said that immigrants should migrate to countries in which they are most culturally similar, and that leaving one\u2019s country due to hardship was \u201cweak.\u201d For many Syrians, however, Germany offered the greatest promise for opportunity and leaving Syria was not a matter of choice, as they faced torture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To recruit others to the AfD cause, Tamm has taken to posting images and short-form videos on social media. He sports a coiffed short cut with a sharp side part and a short mustache and beard. Along with several \u201cremigration\u201d posts and messages in support of the MAGA movement, Tamm also targets LGBT+ groups.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though LGBT+ sentiment is <\/span>mixed<\/span><\/a> within the AfD, and party co-leader Alice Weidel is openly lesbian, anti-immigration messages are uniform throughout. Influencers like Tamm, who is only 25, have helped generate a new <\/span>wave<\/span><\/a> of AfD support primarily from young, white German men.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jasmine, who is a graduate student in Berlin, noticed her younger brother has been pulled to the political right by his social media feed. Her brother, a 17-year-old who now lives in the US but was born in Germany, has been telling her that more deportations are needed and immigrants are going to \u201creplace us in the culture.\u201d She believes that social media algorithms can \u201cindoctrinate you into [an] anti-migrant racist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She also explained how the AfD made refugees \u201cscapegoats\u201d for a wide range of problems, as the party advertised that \u201cif we stop the migrants coming in, then suddenly everything will be better.\u201d And far too many, she believes, fell for this promise that she considers a trap.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Tamm, he wears provocation as a badge of honor: \u201cI like to be the provocateur.\u201d Tamm approaches his social media posts like a \u201cbusiness\u201d with his videos making fun of left wing beliefs. \u201cIf you want to be successful, you have to do something that nobody is doing, and you have to find a niche that isn’t occupied. I found a niche with my provocative videos.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Provocation is not an idea unique to the AfD party. In the US, the MAGA movement has been using similar strategies to attract younger male voters, and the Trump administration has similarly cracked down on illegal immigrants. It is unsurprising that the two groups have begun to show signs of unity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Back in early 2025, Vance spoke out against the firewall that had formed in Germany against the AfD, stating that it was challenging free speech in the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since then, Deputy leader of the AfD Beatrix von Storch and AfD Politician from western Germany Joachim Paul had a <\/span>meeting<\/span><\/a> in September with representatives of the national security council, the vice president\u2019s office and the State Department. Most recently, German influencer and MAGA advisor <\/span>Alex Bruesewitz <\/span>visited<\/span><\/a> Berlin in early November and spoke with AfD leaders about their shared goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The spreading popularity of this movement was on full display following the assasination of social media influencer and far-right supporter Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, as protests and gatherings drew large crowds <\/span>across<\/span><\/a> the <\/span>country<\/span><\/a> and in <\/span>Europe<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Country leaders and officials have posted reactions to Kirk’s death, many of which are aligned with the far-right rhetoric. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n <\/span>described<\/span><\/a> the left as \u201chate mongering,\u201d <\/span>Santiago Abascal<\/span>, a Congressman in Spain, <\/span>wrote<\/span><\/a> that the left \u201cwanted this assasination,\u201d and Germany\u2019s Alice Weidel, co-leader of the AfD party, <\/span>posted<\/span><\/a> on X that \u201cliberal\u2019s hate the left\u2019s way of life.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am totally not surprised that a party like the AfD that’s still on its way up trying to take power, is going to try to learn everything it can from ideologues and activists in other countries who are singing from the same sheet of music,\u201d one former Foreign Service Officer in the Department of State told me.<\/span><\/p>\n

From here, my plan is to move into AfD ties with Russia then concerns about antisemitism. End with kicker of Tamm at protest in Nazi salute.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christopher Tamm, 25, is sitting on a chair next to an anti-racism bench in Germany as he looks at the camera wearing sunglasses in an Instagram post dated March, 2025. In the caption, Tamm has included the calculation for the estimated cost for the \u201cso-called \u2018benches against racism: no room for racism\u2014for diversity!\u2019\u201d as he<\/p>\n

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