World of the Right: Alternative visions of global order (WoR)

In the US, Russia, and several EU-countries the nationalist, radical and often populist Right is becoming increasingly influential. While we know quite a lot about how these ideologies shape domestic politics, and what thoughts they harbour on topics such as the nation-state and immigration, we know surprisingly little about their visions and ideas for global order. Whilst often labelled as 'anti-liberal', this project challenges that, seeing them as far more hybrid in visions; also in how they relate back to the post-1945 order. 

The project at NUPI looks deeper into the international ideology of the conservative New Right in Russia, the US, and Europe, examining the increasingly stronger conservative reaction to the liberal world order after 1989: what are their alternative visions of the international, and how this impact their visions of topics such as the family, the national, and the borders of what an international community can do? The policy component of the project will look at the implications of these visions for Norwegian and European foreign- and security policy. Theoretically, the project aims to i) expand how we think about liberal ideology in IR and reactions to liberal ideology, ii) explore and discuss the commonalities between the New Right's stated anti-liberalism and realism and conservatism in political theory. 

The 3-year project at NUPI is in part funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Defence (MoD), and is lead by Research Fellow Minda Holm. She is in paralell with the MoD-project writing a PhD on the topic at the University of Copenhagen, Department of Political Science (supervisor Prof. Ole Wæver), and is also affiliated with the Danish Institute of International Studies (DIIS). Her PhD project is preliminary titled Theorizing (liberal) international ideology and counter-ideology: The post-1989 liberal script and the New Right’s critique.

The project is part of and also funded by a wider international research project on the World of the Right funded by the Danish Velux Foundation, lead by Dr. Vibeke Schou Tjalve (DIIS) and in cooperation with Professor Michael C. Williams (University of Ottawa) and senior lecturer, Jean Francios Drolet, University of Queen Mary, London.  Schou Tjalve will contribute to the project at NUPI with her expertise on the American New Right. More information on the Velux project here.