Dear friends,
Welcome to the 14th newsletter on and against global authoritarianism in February 2026. While Europe celebrates its rejection of Trump's desire to conquer Greenland as a success, the authoritarian right is gaining ground in elections in Latin America and Europe.
In our ReGA newsletter, you will find
→ as always, a look at the foreign policy of the AfD, focusing on the party's stance on Trump,
→ under Europe's Far Right, we report on the significance of Jeffrey Epstein's criminal network for the extreme right in Europe, the Transatlantic Summit of the Political Network for Values in Brussels, and more,
→ with our Linea B project, we report on the extreme right in Latin America, the possible candidacy of Bolsonaro's son Flávio in Brazil, the queer anti-fascist and anti-racist demonstrations in Argentina on February 7, Chile after the election of José Antonio Kast as president, the EU Parliament vote on the review of the EU-Mercosur agreement, Costa Rica and Colombia,
→ and finally, information about upcoming and past events – by and against the right wing!
If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter, please click here.
For weeks, the US's grab for Greenland caused stress in European politics. Since a meeting between US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Davos, Switzerland, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF), calm has returned for the time being. However, nothing is known about the actual agreements, which were described as a “framework of a future deal.” Gabriella Gricius provides insights into the details of the Greenland crisis in the IPG Journal.
The AfD leadership is not pleased with the Trump administration's foreign policy interventionism and appears to be jeopardizing its relationship with the MAGA movement as a result. Read more about the multipolar disorder within the AfD in our section on AfD foreign policy.
Despite all the differences, however, the AfD is likely to continue its foreign policy appearances in February and March. Provided there are no further disagreements, three AfD members will attend the Munich Security Conference (MSC) from February 13 to 15. According to press reports, Rüdiger Lucassen (defense), Anna Rathert (foreign affairs), and Heinrich Koch (defense) have been invited. The Greens and the SPD have criticized the invitation. MSC head Wolfgang Ischinger defended the invitation to the AfD after a two-year hiatus under his predecessor Christoph Heusgen. He said it did not tear down any firewalls. The AfD will not appear on stage.
The AfD is also expected to participate in the Alliance of Sovereign Nations Conference 2026 in Washington, D.C. (USA) in early March, to which Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna has issued an invitation. Luna met with “dozens of AfD delegates” in early December, including Markus Frohnmaier, Anna Rathert, and Alexander Sell (MEP). More on the conference in our preview of upcoming events.
This continues the diplomatic normalization and recognition of the AfD by the US government. A particularly curious example: in the context of a delegation trip led by CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen, there was a clear affront by the US hosts at the end of January. The State Department refused to receive the accompanying representatives of the SPD and the Greens. This was reported by politico. Delegation leader Röttgen then canceled the meeting. Nevertheless, Peter Felser, the AfD representative in the delegation, met with representatives of the US Department of Defense at the Pentagon to discuss German defense policy.
In our Linea B section on the extreme right in Latin America, Gabriela Mitidieri and Robert Grosse from CELS report on queer anti-fascist, anti-racist demonstrations and rallies that took place on February 7 in more than ten Argentine cities and provinces, following on from protests held last year.
Presidential elections will be held in Brazil in October. Andrea Dip reports on the state of election preparations for Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former head of government Jaír Bolsonaro, who has since been convicted of attempted coup d'état.
The future Chilean president, José Antonio Kast, presented his cabinet, which will take office in March, including former lawyers of dictator Pinochet and an evangelical anti-abortionist. Ute Löhning highlights references to Pinochetism and the international alliances Kast is already building ahead of his inauguration.
The EU-Mercosur trade agreement is about to be introduced. However, the EU Parliament initially referred it to the European Court of Justice to review its compliance with EU law. The decision was heavily criticized for geopolitical reasons and has fueled a debate about the firewall against the right. Ute Löhning interviewed Thomas Fritz, trade and investment policy advisor at the NGO PowerShift in Berlin, about this decision and the double dilemma.
Finally, we would like to draw your attention to further publications by ReGA staff: The anthology “Die politische Rechte in Lateinamerika” (The Political Right in Latin America, NOMOS Verlag) has been published, featuring exciting articles including “Das Goldene Zeitalter der Autokratie. Vernetzung der Rechten zwischen Europa, den USA und Lateinamerika” (The Golden Age of Autocracy: Networking of the Right between Europe, the USA, and Latin America) by Andrea Dip, Ulli Jentsch, and Ute Löhning. All articles are available as open access PDFs.
An article by Ulli Jentsch on the US Heritage Foundation and its activities in Europe is now available online on our website – in German and English. The article was published as a guest contribution in the Antifaschistisches Infoblatt.