From Fringe to Mainstream: Understanding the Cultural and Political Identities of Contemporary German Nationalism

Although far-right politics remains a fringe movement in contemporary Germany, one can observe its continuing presence in society given the rise of the National Democratic Party (NPD) in the early 2000s, and the violent attacks led by the National Socialist Underground (NSU) from 2000-2006. A divided opinion amongst Germans arises regarding how best to address nationalism: should the state mandate an outright ban on all nationalist groups, or foster a system that allows for close observation and monitoring of said groups? Nonetheless, the nuanced elements of the far-right movement make it increasingly difficult to achieve a definitive solution. While encompassing less than 1% of the population, supporters of the far-right often possess distinctly cultural or political identities that compromise the overall efficacy and legitimacy of the movement. Given ambiguous rates of support due to these conflicting identities, as well as the isolation of right-wing groups and individuals in specific regions, how has the contemporary right-wing achieved such widespread publicity? More importantly, to what degree does this movement pose a threat to German democracy? In this thesis, I provide an interdisciplinary review of film (Dennis Gansel’s Die Welle), literature (Andres Veiel’s Der Kick and Timur Vermes’ Er ist wieder da), journalism, and government publications to identify the societal implications of the contemporary far-right in Germany. Specifically, I seek to address how, if at all, these cultural representations of far-right ideology mirror the actual movement, and to what extent this movement may subvert established German democracy.Bachelor of Art

Increasing frailty is associated with higher prevalence and reduced recognition of delirium in older hospitalised inpatients: results of a multi-centre study

Purpose: Delirium is a neuropsychiatric disorder delineated by an acute change in cognition, attention, and consciousness. It is common, particularly in older adults, but poorly recognised. Frailty is the accumulation of deficits conferring an increased risk of adverse outcomes. We set out to determine how severity of frailty, as measured using the CFS, affected delirium rates, and recognition in hospitalised older people in the United Kingdom. Methods: Adults over 65 years were included in an observational multi-centre audit across UK hospitals, two prospective rounds, and one retrospective note review. Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), delirium status, and 30-day outcomes were recorded. Results: The overall prevalence of delirium was 16.3% (483). Patients with delirium were more frail than patients without delirium (median CFS 6 vs 4). The risk of delirium was greater with increasing frailty [OR 2.9 (1.8–4.6) in CFS 4 vs 1–3; OR 12.4 (6.2–24.5) in CFS 8 vs 1–3]. Higher CFS was associated with reduced recognition of delirium (OR of 0.7 (0.3–1.9) in CFS 4 compared to 0.2 (0.1–0.7) in CFS 8). These risks were both independent of age and dementia. Conclusion: We have demonstrated an incremental increase in risk of delirium with increasing frailty. This has important clinical implications, suggesting that frailty may provide a more nuanced measure of vulnerability to delirium and poor outcomes. However, the most frail patients are least likely to have their delirium diagnosed and there is a significant lack of research into the underlying pathophysiology of both of these common geriatric syndromes