Left-wing extremism
Left-wing extremism is a collective term for all efforts directed against the free democratic basic order that are based on treating the values of freedom and (social) equality as absolutes, especially as they are found in anarchist and communist ideas.
Left-wing extremist goals
Left-wing extremists seek to do away with the existing state and social order, and therefore with the free democratic basic order. Depending on their ideological orientation, they want to replace it with a communist system or an anarchist society “without rulers”. All left-wing extremists agree that “capitalism” as the “root of all evil” has to be fought and eliminated.
Left-wing extremists regard “capitalism” as the inseparable union of the market-based system of ownership and the democratic state governed by the rule of law. The sole purpose of this union, they say, is to consolidate relations of exploitation and oppression. This is why they consider “capitalism” to be incompatible with the idea of a society that is based on freedom and equality for all people.
Left-wing extremists believe that overcoming “capitalism”, which they regard as necessary, is not possible through political reforms, but can only be achieved by overthrowing the existing state and social order. Left-wing extremists are in principle also willing to use violence to reach this goal.
Left-wing extremist structures
The left-wing extremist scene is characterised by its heterogeneity, which is apparent in the differing ideologies, degrees of organisation, preferred forms of action and in the attitude to whether violence is a legitimate means to achieve political aims.
More than one in four of all left-wing extremists can be classed as violence-oriented. This mainly includes autonomists, anarchists and, at present, a small part of the strictly ideological spectrum.
Autonomists
Autonomists are by far the largest group among violence-oriented left-wing extremists. Autonomist scenes form first and foremost in major cities and in university towns. Each scene usually has a central meeting point, which gives rise to a network of small groups, individuals and local offshoots of interregional or national organisations and structures. The largest scenes are in Berlin, Hamburg and Leipzig.
Autonomists reject all forms of external control. They regard all types of state and rule as equally authoritarian and think that they should be replaced with an order free of domination.
Within their “free spaces”, autonomists therefore try to adopt alternative ways of life that are aligned with their own ideals. This inevitably goes along with rejecting and keeping away those in charge of law and order. The mere presence of police in a “free space”, for example, can be enough to cause violent attacks.
The idea is to oppose the “capitalist system of society” using structures that here and there disrupt the capacity for action of its institutions, thereby gradually reducing state power until the state itself ceases to exist.
Anarchists
Anarchists reject the subjugation of human beings by other human beings. This includes all forms of state rule, including those within liberal democracies. Anarchists believe that the values of freedom and equality should exist without restriction in a state and social order that is entirely free of any domination.
Unlike autonomists, anarchists thus not only strive to create “free spaces” within a given state system. They rather seek to overcome nation states and the forms of rule established in them – including free democracy. The anarchist scene is characterised by high levels of networking, considered essential for achieving the revolution that will bring about an anarchist society.
Strictly ideological left-wing extremists
Strictly ideological left-wing extremists base their ideology principally on the theories of early communist thinkers such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin.
The spectrum of strictly ideological left-wing extremists comprises left-wing extremist political parties and similar organisations.
These include the Deutsche Kommunistische Partei (DKP, Communist Party of Germany), the Marxistisch-Leninistische Partei Deutschlands (MLPD, Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany), the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (SGP, Socialist Equality Party) and the extremist structures of the political party DIE LINKE as well as other organisations.
The shared goal pursued by strictly ideological left-wing extremists is to dismantle the democratic constitutional state and establish socialism and, proceeding from that, a “classless” communist society. In addition to their ideological groundwork, they provide support to practically the entire German left-wing extremist spectrum, helping to ensure that left-wing extremism remains a part of everyday life. To this end, they also use democratic means; for example, they participate in elections.
Left-wing extremist political parties are not represented in any German parliaments at the moment. They nevertheless try to exert influence in the parliamentary sphere and, through their ideological groundwork, are capable of becoming “intellectual enablers” for violence-oriented left-wing extremists. There has also been increasing support for action-oriented cooperation with violence-oriented left-wing extremists. Furthermore, strictly ideological left-wing extremist organisations with their large membership, their youth work and partly their financial strength are a non-negligible factor of German left-wing extremism.
The several hundred violence-oriented strictly ideological left-wing extremists deliberately refuse to rule out the use of violence.
Violence-oriented strictly ideological left-wing extremists also include anti-imperialists. They believe that the “capitalist” countries strive to open up new markets using “imperialist” policies and also using force, all with the aim of maximising profits. Anti-imperialists view violence as a necessary element in the fight against “capitalism” and “imperialism”.
One of the largest and most important groups of left-wing extremists in Germany is Rote Hilfe e.V. (RH, Red Aid). Its main activity is providing legal and financial support to left-wing extremist offenders, both during criminal proceedings and when in prison. This is intended to minimise the deterrent effects of criminal proceedings and to question the legitimacy of the democratic constitutional state.
High threat level
In left-wing extremism, there is a high threat level both in terms of criminal and violent offences and in terms of its following.
In addition to a large amount of violence, a difference in the type and level of violence can also be observed. While clashes and “black blocs” are becoming less predominant at demonstrations, systematic actions against people and property are visible on the sidelines of these events. Referring to “anti-fascism”, small well-organised groups launch direct, extremely violent attacks on political opponents in order to create “Nazi-free zones”.
The notions of “anti-gentrification” and “anti-repression” are also used to justify direct physical attacks on police officers, politicians and businesspeople. Moreover, arson attacks against targets such as vehicles, construction equipment and buildings lead to losses, in some cases huge.
Autonomists in particular are responsible for a large number of serious violent crimes. In direct confrontations with political opponents but also with the police, they show few inhibitions. They tacitly accept serious bodily harm and in some cases also the possible death of other people.
In this context, issues such as “anti-repression” and “anti-gentrification” are, depending on the circumstances, relevant but ultimately interchangeable areas of action which usually serve only as a pretext to advance left-wing extremists ideology.
Exploitation of democratic discourse
For left-wing extremists, exploiting democratic discourse to their own ends plays a significant role. They take up important current political topics in an attempt to exert a targeted influence on societal discussions. Their aim is to ensure that their own political agenda, such as questioning the legitimacy of the state and its institutions, features in debate.
In this connection, left-wing extremists focus on trying to radicalise others, on establishing personal contacts with non-extremist participants and on recruiting new members.