Staatsräson as State Racism: Notes on the Authoritarian Turn in Contemporary Germany
Abstract
Tracing the authoritarian and repressive reaction to protest in solidarity with Palestine in contemporary Germany, the article shows how this reaction is driven by a complex set of tendencies, including an official, state-led anti-antisemitism that increasingly centers on “Israel-related antisemitism” and the symbolic “outsourcing” of antisemitism to migrant populations. As a result, anti-antisemitism in its currently hegemonic form functions as a cover for white supremacist, ethnonationalist, and antimigrant discourses and policies that constitute a form of state racism in the name of Staatsräson.
Fields of Study & Subjects
German legal
social
and political studies
German Colonialism and Identity Studies
Religion
Theology
History
Judaism
Christianity
Publication details
- Journal / source
- New German Critique
- Publisher
- Duke University Press
- Volume
- 53
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 225–250
- Publication date
- 1 February 2026
- Language
- EN