Demobilising far-right demonstration campaigns: Coercive counter-mobilisation, state social control, and the demobilisation of the Hess Gedenkmarsch campaign

Figures & data

Figure 1. Causal mechanism of demobilisation by coercive counter-mobilisation and state social control.

Table 1. The conception and observable manifestations of the cause of this process, a large, far-right demonstration campaign

Scope condition	Conception	Observable manifestation
Demonstration campaign	A campaign composed of a series of strategically linked demonstrations, with a consistent organiser, and intended to further specific movement/SMO goals	Mobilisation of demonstrators in and around Wunsiedel on the anniversary of Rudolf Hess’s death; statements from campaign organisers about their intention for successive demonstration events
Far-right^9	Social actors that fit within one or more of Minkenberg’s four variants of radical right forces^10	Demonstrations honouring a famous Nazi and close acolyte of Adolf Hitler; demonstrations organised by avowedly neo-Nazi activists and peopled by neo-Nazi movement members
Large	Amassing more than 1000 participants at peak mobilisation of the campaign	The number of participants reported in Hess Gedenkmarsch events by police and news outlet accounts.

Table 2. Observable manifestations (OM) of $C_1$ (part I of causal mechanism)

No.	Observable manifestation (OM)
1	Events of far-right demonstration campaign reported widely and/or in sources readily available to militant anti-far-right group(s)
2	Testimony from anti-far-right activists confirming that the far-right demonstration campaign had come to the attention of the group and the intention to counter-mobilise was decided and planned
3	References to the far-right demonstration campaign and counter-mobilising actions in militant anti-far-right group(s) publications and internal documents
4	Accounts of significant violent altercations – not merely a few marginal incidents – between far-right demonstrators and counter-mobilising activists
5	References to heightened public safety concerns in reporting of event, in testimony from local residents or in the actions of local state authorities
6	Account of local/presiding state authority adopting social control measures on legally justified bases
7	Account notification of decision to organising far-right group/activist, and decision to appeal to legal adjudication
8	Record of judicial decision confirming local state authority’s social control measures

Table 3. Observable manifestations (OM) of $C_2$ (part II of causal mechanism)

No.	Observable manifestation (OM)
9	Accounts of far-right adaptation to social control measures (e.g., holding proxy demonstrations, changing date or location) that, in any case, preserves the tactic of large-scale demonstrations^15
10	Accounts of continued counter-mobilisation against the campaign
11	Accounts of similar social control measures adopted by local authorities to deal with adaptations of far-right demonstration campaign

Table 4. Observable manifestations (OM) of the outcome

No.	Observable manifestation (OM)
12	Documents, publications, or accounts from/of the organising far-right SMO or its leaders stating that continued social control or counter-mobilisation make more demonstration events impracticable
13	No accounts of further demonstration events
14	Accounts of further demonstration events consistently record significantly decreased participation in demonstration events

Table 5. Abridged summary of protest event data from Hess Gedenkmarsch campaign. (NB: members from other far-right organisations participated in the campaign, but the HNG, national liste, and FAP were the primary SMOs. Figures for the size of mobilisation and counter-mobilisation are taken primarily from verfassungsschutzberichte [‘constitution protection office reports’], as well as from contemporary news reports.)

Year	Place	Far-right SMO(s)	Mobilisation size	Counter-mobilisation size	Local authority social control?
1988	Wunsiedel	Hilfsorganisation für nationale politische Gefangene (HNG)	120–150		No
1989	Wunsiedel	HNG/ National Liste (NL)/Freiheitliche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (FAP)	200–500	500	No
1990	Wunsiedel	HNG/NL/FAP	1100–1600	2000–4000	No
1991	Bayreuth	NL/FAP	1500–2000	2000	Yes
1992	Rudolstadt	NL/FAP/ Deutsch-Nationale Partei (DNP)	2000	1500	Yes
1993	Fulda	NL/FAP	500	500	Yes
1994	Luxembourg	NL/FAP	180–200		Yes

Figure 2. Causal mechanism in the case of the Hess Gedenkmarsch.