Dietrich Thranhardt, "The Political Uses of Xenophobia in England, France, and Germany," Party Politics , 1 (July, 1995), 323-345.

First Paragraph:
Why do racist, xenophobic and fascist tendencies flourish at a given time, yet flounder at another? Why do some extremist parties - which are poorly organized and seemingly unattractive - suddenly receive so many votes? How does this relate to violence in the streets? And why is it that in other times extremists suddenly become inconsequential?

Figures and Tables:
Figure 1: Asylum applications in Germany, 1979-94.

Last Paragraph:
The difference again is the government's ability to set the agenda. Racist and xenophobic crime has been made a central political issue in the German government's campaign and it has been highlighted worldwide. Whereas governments usually try to play down the negative side of their country's image,the German government played them up. Consequently, they were interpreted worldwide - and also inside Germany - in the context of Nazism and dangers to German democracy. It was a great achievement of the anti-racists to reclaim the streets of the German cities. Their actions however, could not create as much sensation as the ugly crimes had done.