Geschwister Scholl Prize awarded to Carolin Amlinger and Oliver Nachtwey

On Tuesday, the Geschwister Scholl Prize was conferred upon author Carolin Amlinger and sociologist Oliver Nachtwey for their jointly authored volume Zerstörungslust. Elemente des demokratischen Faschismus (Destructive Desires. Elements of Democratic Fascism), Surkamp 2025.

In this work, Amlinger and Nachtwey present a compelling and meticulously argued analysis of contemporary political conditions. The study centers on a widespread sentiment among citizens of liberal democracies: the growing perception that core democratic promises—such as freedom, participation, and social security—are increasingly unattainable. The authors posit that this sense of disenchantment has given rise to a distinctive “desire for destruction.”

Their conceptualization of “democratic fascism” designates an attitude that emerges within democratic systems themselves—a conjunction of resentment, regressive forms of rebellion, and fascistic imaginaries that appropriate democratic institutions while simultaneously eroding them. This diagnosis is grounded in an extensive body of interviews, observational data, and documentary materials, all of which reveal pervasive experiences of uncertainty and exclusion. The plurality of these voices underscores the breadth of the phenomenon, which spans from an unsettled middle class to milieus that have undergone significant radicalization.

The German Publishers and Booksellers Association, represented at the ceremony by its chair Klaus Füreder, commended the work during the award presentation in LMU's Large auditorium LMU Munich. The event was attended, among others, by LMU President Professor Matthias Tschöp and Munich’s Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter. In its commendation, the Association emphasized that the book exemplifies the intellectual independence and moral vigilance that the Geschwister Scholl Prize seeks to recognize and foster.