Das Recht der Extremismusbekämpfung

Norms dealing with counter-extremism can be found in numerous places in German public law. The most well-known are the norms under constitutional law, i. e. the ban on political parties, the ban on associations and the forfeiture of fundamental rights. However, there are also norms in administrative law that aim to combat extremism. This leads to the involvement of different actors and different measures. This approach is in line with the socio-political debate, which views counter-extremism as a holistic task. In the academic legal debate and in German case law, this is different. There, the connection of the individual instruments of counter-extremism is limited to the constitutional norms. Moreover, the connection of the constitutional measures is only noted, but the potentials of this connection are only insufficiently used. Using the example of intervention thresholds, this article shows that it is useful to analyse all instruments in their overall context. This is necessary to identify commonalities and differences, which can also enrich the interpretation of individual instruments. At the same time, the article also contributes to the question of the distinguishability of the intervention thresholds of the law of defence against extremism from those of general police law. This article considers also the current decision of the Federal Constitutional Court on the Bavarian Law on the Protection of the Constitution, which contributes to the sharpening of the thresholds for intervention in the law on the protection of the constitution, but still leaves some questions unanswered. The article aims to answer these questions.