An underground plot led by an elderly German aristocrat. Conspiracies with a former army commander and an MP. Fanatics planning to storm the parliament on "Day-X".

It sounds like something you might read in a history textbook, but this plot to overthrow the modern German state was exposed only yesterday morning.

The scheme consisted of around 25 people who police say planned to violently overthrow the state by storming the German BundestagGermany's legislative assembly, elected every four years.. Its ringleader, Heinrich XIII, is a prince of the "Reuss dynasty" which ruled ThuringiaA state in central Germany. for 800 years before the collapse of the German Empire in 1918.

The plotters are from the increasingly prominent Reichsburger movement, which denies the legitimacy of the modern Federal Republic of Germany.

The Reichsburger group is a far-right fringe group spreading racist and anti-semiticShowing hatred or prejudice towards Jewish people. conspiracy theories. They are monarchistsPeople who support the idea of a monarchy. who see the abolition of the German monarchy as illegal, and advocate for the return of the "Second Reich" - the period from 1871 to 1918 when Germany was ruled by emperors.

Germany's unification was masterminded by Otto von Bismarck, who was also the leader of the empire for nine years until 1890. Bismarck remains for some an iconic figure in German history.

The German Empire came to a close in the aftermath of World War One with 1918's German Revolution. Workers rose up to overthrow the emperor and establish a democratic republicA state in which the leaders are chosen by the people, and which has a president rather than a monarch. .

The group is one of many far-right factions that have sparked fear across Europe and North America in recent decades, with numerous high-profile terrorist acts.

Some think that the rise of far-right terrorism is being mirrored in politics. Voters across Europe are increasingly voting for extreme right-wing candidates, including in 2022 elections in France, Sweden, Italy and Hungary.

Yes: Right-wing extremism is clearly becoming worse. Terrorists are becoming empowered by a wave of elections of right-wing candidates in politics. The Reichsburger group is only the tip of the iceberg.

No: At every period in history there have been waves of radicalism in both directions. Eventually, it evens out to more moderate positions. Even in the most progressive world, there would still be a small number of extremists.

Or... There is no way to measure whether extremism is getting worse, but it should not matter. We need to stamp out extremism and terrorism wherever we find them by addressing their root causes.