The behaviour and positions that are described as right-wing extremism are informed by a racist and nationalist ideology as well as an authoritarian hierarchical understanding of society. Right-wing extremists do not consider everyone as equal, on the contrary the ideology marks some people or groups as more or less valuable than others. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution defines right-wing extremism as a political position that refuses the democratic state and its principle of freedom and democracy. Some social scientists critique this understanding of extremism for considering these actions and positions as oppositional to democracy which would for example implicate that racism could only occur at the margins of society. They argue, however, that racist actions and positions also appear in the “centre” of society.