Ian Klinke, Politikwissenschaftler an der University of Oxford, in "The Conversation" vom 04.12.2015

"This expression of military solidarity with France is to some degree surprising. Berlin has long maintained a culture of military moderation. Meanwhile, Germany has a rather pressing problem with right-wing extremism at home. (...) The decision to enter the conflict in Syria is also surprising because, unlike France, Russia, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the US, Germany has not recently witnessed a successful act of Islamist terrorism against its own citizens on its own territory. (...) Germany has been haunted by right-wing extremism, though. Xenophobic street movement Pegida continues to attract large crowds to its protests and the new right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany is now the third strongest party in some polls. Newspapers Die Zeit and Tagesspiegel say 156 people have died in Germany since 1990 as a result of right-wing extremist attacks – although government estimates are much lower.