Event
Theory Seminar: Professor Srdjan Vucetic on: The Anglosphere and the European Radical Right
Contemporary Europe is witnessing a surge in radical-right leaders, parties, movements and knowledge producers who seek and proclaim a new world order. Consulting texts collected from different media and forms of communication, this study asks how these actors view ‘the Anglosphere,’ a distinct geopolitical space that challenges seemingly stable Western and Euro-Atlantic identities.
As ‘the’ European radical is a kind of empty signifier that flattens multiple intellectual traditions and cultural influences, the analysis identifies three discourses that simultaneously inform and challenge each other.
- ‘National conservatives’ configure the Anglosphere as part a singular Western world, albeit one that came to be overwhelmed by the worst excesses of liberalism.
- ‘Neo-Gaullism’ constructs the Anglosphere as Other, a blend of America's uninvited imperialism and an Anglo-Saxon civilisation-state.
- ‘Neo-Eurasianism’ agrees with ‘neo-Gaullism’ on the Anglosphere’s fundamental otherness but casts it as an enemy rather than a mere rival.
The three discourses suggest contrasting and complementary understanding of international order. National conservatives aim to morally and politically recast the West. In contrast, neo-Gaullists and neo-Eurasianists abandon this aspiration, instead emphasising greater ‘sovereignty’ and ‘strategic independence’ for Europe. As these previously fringe visions seep into the European political mainstream, they gain significance for the current international order.
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NUPI is continuously organizing a series of theory seminars. ...