Title: Legitimizing Colonial Rule in the Twenty-First Century
Abstract: This chapter 1 sets out to analyze how the German right-wing party AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) attempts to legitimize colonial rule and resemanticize colonialism as an endeavor which cannot be seen as entirely criminal and negative.The first section will deal with the social and historical context of this attempt, which is characterized by the rise of postcolonial (and more recently decolonial) studies, an increasing political awareness of colonialism and racism through political campaigns reaching a wider public, and a revisionist backlash against this process from the political right.The second section will outline the method employed, which can briefly be characterized as a poststructuralist discourse analysis.The third section will then focus on the motion to the German Bundestag entitled "A nuanced culturalpolitical engagement with the German colonial period" ("Die deutsche Kolonialzeit kulturpolitisch differenziert aufarbeiten") 2 submitted by the AfD, which will be taken as a case in point to be analyzed.