As democracies, we must be prepared to defend ourselves against various threats,
including those that challenge our way of life and exploit the vulnerabilities of open societies. Islamist terror attacks such as in the Paris opera, at the airport in Brussels, or at the Christmas market in Berlin shook our societies and lead to a necessary upgrade to our security policies.
The right-wing extremist attack on a synagogue in Halle in November 2019 prompted the German government to implement several further measures as a response to a surge in
right-wing extremism (RWX), including the creation of an RWX coordination cell on a
national intelligence level, a Cabinet committee to combat the RWX threat, and initiatives
to combat racism, anti-Semitism, and hate speech. These measures contribute to greater
national resilience against extremism, but recent events, such as the dismantling of a terror
plot by a Reichsbürger faction, show that we cannot take our security or our democracy for
granted.
To be resilient against extremism and anti-democratic forces, Western liberal democracies need comprehensive and targeted strategies. The enemies come in different forms and can instrumentalize crises to undermine trust in government and democratic institutions. For instance, the consequences of Putin’s unlawful attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty and the ensuing war extend beyond military and external security questions for Germany – they also have profound impact on our internal affairs, manifested in the need for Germany to be prepared for targeted acts of sabotage against critical infrastructure, for example. Internal
and external security are certainly “two sides of the very same coin“ in the 21st century.
Germany has been learning from Australia’s legislative responses to foreign interference, and knowledge-exchange and cooperation with like-minded partners are key to devising
comprehensive responses to these challenges. However, it is important to recognize that democracy often requires striking compromises. But we should not compromise on our foundational values and principles. We must recognize red lines and be attuned to emerging dynamics to negotiate our collective responses across and beyond existing fault lines. The
cornerstones of a resilient democracy lie in these efforts.