Infiltrating the Ordinary: How the Far Right Encroaches on Everyday Life

Far-right actors and ideologies are gaining ground in parliaments and on the streets worldwide. Even in Germany—a country long perceived as “immune” to the resurgence of the far right—the extreme right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has made significant electoral advances in recent years. In the 2025 German federal election, the AfD came in second by garnering over 20 percent of the vote. While much attention is focused on the party’s success in the east (notably the former German Democratic Republic), the far right is also making notable gains in the west, particularly in rural areas, where far-right actors have rallied around the concept of what might be referred to as Kulturlandschaften (cultural landscapes).By invoking terms such as homeland, culture, and landscape, the far right taps into everyday experiences and practices. Topics like environmental protection, the preservation of traditions, and regional identity, thereby serve as entry points for mobilisation and radicalisation, allowing far-right actors to infiltrate seemingly apolitical areas of life. Rural regions, in particular, function both as targets and as platforms for discursive strategies that normalise far-right ideology. Drawing on specific examples from rural areas in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Southwest Germany, this article examines how the far right encroaches on everyday life. In particular, we focus on food and nature as key vessels through which far-right actors establish connections that appeal to and integrate individuals from non-extremist backgrounds. By embedding their ideology in these everyday themes, the far right creates potential gateways for broader mobilisation and normalisation.