ZEIT Investigations: A Coup from the Right?

What seemed to many like a bizarre spectacle actually revealed a network that had long been forged in secret—and whose key figures are still working today to overthrow the democratic system. In Telegram groups, at shooting ranges, in back rooms. In total, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency counts more than 15,000 violence-oriented right-wing extremists, and the trend is rising.

• Who are these people?
• And how dangerous are their fantasies of overthrow?

Christian Fuchs is a journalist and has been writing for DIE ZEIT since 2014; previously, he was a reporter for the investigative network of the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and NDR. He primarily reports on extremism and the New Right, but also on lobbying and sexual abuse. He is the author of the books "Geheimer Krieg" (2013) and "Die Zelle" (2012). His most recent publication is "Das Netzwerk der Neuen Rechten" (2019, co-authored with Christian Middelhoff).

His work has been honored with the German Reporter Award, the Leuchtturm Prize for outstanding journalistic achievements, and multiple times as one of the Journalists of the Year.

Oliver Nachtwey is a professor of social structure analysis at the University of Basel and conducts research on social modernization and individualization processes as well as changes in the world of work. He focuses on the development of social conflicts, digitalization, protests, and the rise of authoritarianism. He has received multiple awards for his book *Die Abstiegsgesellschaft* (2016). "Gekränkte Freiheit. Aspekte des libertären Autoritarismus" (2022, co-authored with Carolin Amlinger) was shortlisted for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize. Most recently, "The Lust for Destruction: Elements of Democratic Fascism" (2025, co-authored with Carolin Amlinger) was published; it received the Geschwister Scholl Prize and ranked first on the non-fiction bestseller lists of ZEIT/ Deutschlandfunk Kultur/ZDF non-fiction bestseller lists as well as the NZZ/WELT/WDR5/Ö1 bestseller list.

IN GERMAN