Populist Parties in German Speaking Countries - Case Study Using the Examples of Alternative for Germany and Freedom Party of Austria in 2013-2017.

In recent decades, we have witnessed a sharp increase in the preferences of populist parties across Europe. These parties gain votes not only in the east, but also in the west. In many countries, populists participate in the government. This trend also affected the German- speaking countries. This bachelor thesis deals with populist parties in German-speaking countries on the example of Alternative for Germany and Freedom Party of Austria. Although they may appear to be two completely different parties, the topics of their programmes in recent years has been approaching. It seems to be a direct call to question the similarity of these two parties, considering their history, development and topics. The aim of the thesis is to characterize the Alternative for Germany and the Freedom Party of Austria from the point of view of the history and ideology of the parties, using the compilation of research findings in the field of (right-wing) populism. The thesis also deals with the parties programmes from the years 2013 and 2017, whose analysis focuses mainly on the following issues: European politics, economic policy, social policy, immigration and integration policy and the introduction of direct democracy. The result of the electoral programmes analysis is an overview of thematic intersections of the..