In a democracy where outright prohibition carries the weight of authoritarianism, Germany has chosen a narrower instrument: the quiet closing of certain doors. As the far-right Alternative for Germany party advances toward real governing power in state elections, federal officials are moving preemptively to limit its members' access to classified intelligence — a measure that treats the question of trustworthiness not as a future judgment, but as a present one. The decision reflects a broader tension that liberal democracies increasingly face: how to protect the institutions of openness from t