Rightwing populist movements come upon powerful conceptual means in their campaign against democracy: the theory of extremism. Gained from a specific reading of works critical of totalitarianism, e.g. by Hannah Arendt, a horseshoe model has asserted itself when speaking about society: The center of society is being threatened by the fringes. Islamism, rightwing extremism and leftwing extremism are working on the destruction of democracy. Especially the equation of rightwing extremism and leftwing extremism frequently leads to playing down the former at the cost of the latter. Moreover, the construction of a societal center is problematic. What belongs to the center and what does not? Particularly the current manifestations of rightwing ideologies seek to remain just compatible enough with the social discourse and shift it to the right through calculated transgressions. But when even making positive reference to the German constitution is discussed as being radically leftwing, this horseshoe model is no longer tenable.