**Alternative for Germany (AfD)** is a far-right, right-wing populist, and national conservative political party in Germany, founded in April 2013 initially as a Eurozone crisis-driven Euroskeptic movement opposing mainstream policies, particularly those of Angela Merkel[1][3]. It rapidly evolved to adopt strong nationalist, anti-immigration, Islamophobic, and xenophobic positions, especially after the 2015 refugee crisis, which significantly boosted its support[2][3]. AfD’s political trajectory is marked by its breakthrough into the Bundestag in 2017 as the first new party since reunification to do so, securing 94 seats and becoming the largest opposition party[1][2]. It expanded its influence by gaining representation in 14 of 16 German state parliaments and the European Parliament, where it finished second nationally in 2024 with 15.9% of the vote[1][2]. However, it faced a decline in the 2021 federal election to the fifth-largest party before rebounding in the 2025 election to become the second-largest party and the leading opposition force[1]. Economically, AfD espouses neoliberal policies favoring deregulation and limited state intervention with some unsuccessful factional pushes toward protectionism and support for small and medium enterprises[1]. Politically, its platform aggressively opposes immigration, advocating for ending refugee government spending, returning refugees to their home countries, abolishing foreigners’ asylum rights, and limiting Islam’s influence in Germany[3]. Despite electoral gains, AfD remains politically isolated due to a post-World War II "firewall" by mainstream parties refusing coalitions with it, citing its extremist tendencies[3][4]. In fact, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency classified AfD as a “proven far-right extremist entity” in 2025, highlighting its anti-constitutional xenophobic agitation and resulting in official surveillance[4]. This classification underscores the party’s simultaneous normalization and radicalization, an