MAGA and AfD: Toward a Transatlantic Alliance of Nationalist Right-Wing Parties
The rapprochement between Donald Trump’s MAGA movement and Germany’s AfD has accelerated significantly since Trump’s return to the White House.
While not identical, the two movements share the same nationalist and populist vision, which is hostile to cultural progressivism, supranational institutions, and, in particular, the European Union. These ideological convergences are now accompanied by increasingly close political ties and transatlantic networks between political figures from both groups. The MAGA-AfD rapprochement thus represents a new political phenomenon, one that has the potential to permanently alter German-American relations and the political balance in Germany and Europe.
- This publication is available in French: Allemagne d'aujourd'hui, 2026/3 N° 257, July-September 2026 (pp. 30-41).
>> >> Hans Stark is Professor of Contemporary German Civilization at the Sorbonne University and Counselor on Franco-German relations at Ifri.
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Hans STARK
Advisor, Study Committee on French-German Relations (Cerfa), Ifri
The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa)
The Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) was created in 1954 by an inter-governmental agreement between the Federal Republic of Germany and France, in order to raise awareness of Germany in France and analyze Franco-German relations, including in their European and international dimensions. In its conferences and seminars, which bring together experts, political leaders, senior decision-makers and representatives of civil society from both countries, Cerfa develops the Franco-German debate and stimulates political proposals. It regularly publishes studies through two collections: Cerfa notes and studies as well as Franco-German visions.
Cerfa maintains close relations with the network of German foundations and think tanks. In addition to its research and debate activities, Cerfa promotes the emergence of a new Franco-German generation through original cooperation programs. This is how in 2021-2022, Cerfa led a program on multilateralism with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Paris. This program is aimed at young professionals from both countries interested in the issues of multilateralism in the context of their activities. It covered a wide range of themes relating to multilateralism, such as international trade, health, human rights and migration, non-proliferation and disarmament. Previously, Cerfa had participated in the Franco-German future dialogue, co-led with the DGAP from 2007 to 2020, and supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation and the Daniel Vernet group (formerly the Franco-German Reflection Group) which was founded in 2014 upon the initiative of the Genshagen Foundation.
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A Partnership Built on Security: Post-Brexit Rapprochement between Germany and the United Kingdom
Since the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, UK-German relations have undergone a remarkable transformation: from Berlin’s deliberate distancing from London during the Brexit negotiations, when Germany consistently prioritised EU-27 unity over bilateral arrangements, to a gradual rapprochement, culminating, for the time being, in the 2025 Kensington Treaty of Friendship.
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The 2026 Munich Security Conference report observes that “the world has entered a period of wrecking-ball politics.” Indeed, the era of Western predominance, dependable alliances and capable multilateral institutions has given way to shifting balances of power and deepening uncertainty.