Diversity Day 2025: Against right-wing populism and anti-feminism

Why was the Working Group on Right-Wing Populism and Higher Education founded and what does it do?

Benjamin Opratko: The Working Group on Right-Wing Populism was founded as a result of the cancellation of the dies academicus due to the announced participation of AfD members of parliament. The working group serves as a forum for exchange and reflection on the topic of right-wing populism within the university. Should the AfD be treated like any other democratic party? Is the AfD a party like any other? And what strategies does the AfD pursue at universities? We founded the working group to discuss these questions with colleagues, pool knowledge and network beyond Leuphana.

Lio Pollmanns: There is a great need for exchange. An important aspect of this exchange is getting to know each other and finding out: Who is concerned with which questions in relation to current social developments? What fears, concerns and uncertainties are associated with this in relation to one's own work and research? And what support can we organise to be less at the mercy of these feelings? For example, we received advice from the „Mobile Beratung gegen Rechtsextremismus“ and held a practical workshop on ‘Argumentation Strategies Against the Right’ with the initiative Stand Up Against Racism. In the working group, we also dealt intensively with the emergence of the AfD in Lower Saxony and its educational and higher education policy goals.

What is your personal motivation for participating in the working group?

L.P.: I am particularly interested in the interface between scientific findings and current socio-political issues that come together in the working group. For me, it is important to create cross-status spaces where this exchange is possible.

B.O.: I have been studying right-wing populism from a social science perspective for a long time, grew up in Austria and lived in Vienna for many years. There is a right-wing populist party there, the FPÖ, which I also research myself, that is very similar to the AfD and even more successful. My aim is to bring findings from international research into the discussion about the AfD here at home. There is a lot to learn from how other countries have dealt with comparable parties and movements – and what mistakes made elsewhere should be avoided.

What does anti-feminism, the theme of this year's Diversity Day, have to do with right-wing populism?

B.O.: Gender politics is a central theme of right-wing extremist and right-wing populist politics around the world. Parties like the AfD want a world with a rigid gender order in which the roles of women and men are defined according to patriarchal norms. Anything that challenges this rigid order – such as feminism – is attacked.

L.P.: Anti-feminist issues such as abortion bans, attacks on marriage equality, hate speech against trans women, or demands to ban gender-neutral language can be used to mobilise various actors who tend to hold opposing views on other issues. Anti-feminism acts as a kind of link or hinge between liberal, conservative and right-wing extremist actors. This makes anti-feminism a gateway or door opener to extreme right-wing worldviews.

Where do you observe anti-feminism?

B.O.: For example, in the attacks on academic gender studies, which unfortunately do not only come from the AfD.

L.P.: Or in the struggle over language. Last autumn, for example, the initiative ‘Stop Gender in Lower Saxony’, initiated by members of the Freie Wähler and the CDU, among others, set up an information stand opposite the campus and campaigned for a ban on gender-neutral language and collected signatures for a petition. The AStA and the Gleichstellungsbüro responded by setting up their own stands to educate people about the relevance of gender-neutral language.

Is anti-feminism even an issue at Leuphana? Does the Working Group on Right-Wing Populism and Higher Education deal with this?

L.P.: These two examples show that anti-feminism is an issue that affects society as a whole and is also being discussed at universities. It is important to educate people about where and how anti-feminism works and to make it clear that it is not just a strategy of the AfD.

And on a broader level, what do you think anti-feminism and right-wing populism have to do with diversity?

If we understand diversity as a term that unites feminist, anti-racist and anti-ableist achievements and goals, as a term that stands for social diversity and inclusion, then anti-feminism and right-wing populism are a great threat to those achievements and values. They mean a deterioration in material living conditions and a real, existential threat to many people who are affected by discrimination.

Thank you very much for the interview!