Politicizing Ruralities: The Far Right, the Farmers and Political Conflicts About Agriculture

Rural and particularly agricultural communities are becoming increasingly contested political spaces as the far right is (and has been for some time) attempting to gain traction and mobilize constituents among particular parts of the population who face great socio-economic, political and ecological challenges. The feeling of being left behind, a widespread impression of political underrepresentation and the resulting political dissatisfaction shape everyday rural life and take center stage in many farmers’ protests. When viewed in the context of this broader political discontent in rural areas and with agricultural policy as its target, farmers' protests provide fertile ground and a window of opportunity for far-right mobilization. This gives rise to the research question at the heart of my project: How do far-right parties mobilize and build constituencies in the context of rural and agricultural political dissatisfaction and in doing so, how do they construct rural social spaces and communities discursively? In answering this question, I focus on the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and their rural mobilization strategy in the subnational, the national and the supranational political arena since 2013, the year of the party’s founding. Theoretically, I combine strategic and discursive elements of the party’s external communication with socio-economic dynamics, while referring in particular to the literature on contemporary far-right parties and “climate obstruction”. Methodologically, I combine discourse analysis approaches using manifestos and other party publications with protest event analysis, socio- structural data, and the parties' behavior to date. My research aims to contribute to the debates on the links between rural-urban and center-periphery divides on the one side and populist or nationalist ideologies, skepticism towards the European Union and, finally, climate skepticism in all its intensities on the other.