Democracy & Elections

Lawfare Daily: Far-Right Gains and a Political Reckoning in Germany

Natalie K. Orpett, Constanze Stelzenmüller, Jen Patja
Wednesday, September 16, 2026, 7:00 AM

Discussing what’s going on in the German political scene.

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On today's podcast, Executive Editor Natalie Orpett sits down with Constanze Stelzenmüller, Director and Fritz Stern Chair of the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, to discuss what’s going on in the German political scene, where a far-right party, the AfD, is making a strong showing in state elections. They talk about what the party stands for, why its emergence is alarming the pro-democracy community, and what it all means for Germany, for Europe, for the United States, and for the future of Western democracies.

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Natalie K. Orpett

Natalie K. Orpett

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Natalie Orpett is the executive editor of Lawfare and deputy general counsel of the Lawfare Institute. She was previously an attorney at the law firm Jenner & Block, where she focused on investigations and government controversies, and also maintained an active pro bono practice. She served as civilian counsel to a defendant in the Guantanamo Military Commissions for more than eight years.
Constanze Stelzenmüller

Constanze Stelzenmüller

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Constanze Stelzenmüller, an expert on German, European, and transatlantic foreign and security policy and strategy, is a Senior Fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings. She held the 2019-2020 Kissinger Chair on Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress and served as the inaugural Robert Bosch Senior Fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe from 2014 to 2019. Prior to Brookings, she was a senior transatlantic fellow and Berlin office director with the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF).
Jen Patja

Jen Patja

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Jen Patja is the editor of the Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security, and serves as Lawfare’s Director of Audience Engagement. Previously, she was Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics and Deputy Director of the Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier, where she worked to deepen public understanding of constitutional democracy and inspire meaningful civic participation.
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