Constructing Identity and Threat : The AfD's rhetorical strategies in the 2025 elective campaign

This study examines the rhetorical strategies that were utilized by the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) throughout the 2025 German federal election campaign. Employing a critical qualitative content analysis of nine speeches, held in the parliament, the study assesses how the party facilitated themes of victimization, enemy construction, and political self-legitimization. Founding this study on framing theory as well as classical rhetoric after Aristotle, the study aims at illustrating the strategic usage of emotional appeals, moral assessments, and logical reasoning to mobilize fear, assign responsibility, and develop the party as the only justified political actor. AfD rhetoric verbalized immigration as an urgent threat and delegitimized political opponents, which actively shapes public discourse and challenges democratic norms and standards. The study contributes to understand the rhetoric mechanisms partially responsible for fostering the rise of the far-right party and stresses the implications that has for human rights.