Far-Right Civilizationism: Limits and Contradictions

This thesis critically explores the ideological aspects of political contestation within the states and societies of the so-called Liberal International Order (LIO) in recent years. Such divisions are associated with key capitalist social and political formations which are concerned with the LIO’s nature, its governance model, and the future of this political bloc within the twenty-first century world order. The focus of this thesis is concerned with the ideological aspects of political contestation and the rivalries and tensions such contestation has produced within the states and societies of the LIO and contemporary world order. Specifically, it will note how the elite-led transnational ‘hegemonic project’ of post-Cold War liberalism has been challenged in recent years by an emergent transnational far-right governance model, with supportive networks of far-right collective intellectuals who are ambitious to provide leadership within the post-war historic bloc of the LIO (or ‘Western civilization’) and greater world order.

I will discuss the various discourse coalitions comprising of elite intellectuals for the two rivalling hegemonic projects for the LIO and world order: 1) “neoliberal cosmopolitanism” (Gowan 2001); and 2) “far-right civilizationism” (Stewart 2020, 2022). I will outline the core ideological aspects of each hegemonic project as well the transnational networks of politicians, institutions, and elite intellectuals attached to each project.

To illustrate the far-right social forces associated with this ‘clash of hegemonic projects’, I will discuss the National Conservatism Conference (NatCon) a major node within in a burgeoning transnational far-right ‘collective intellectual’ network with hegemonic ambitions in the field of global governance knowledge production within the LIO. Founded by political scientist Yoram Hazony in 2019, NatCon has sought to shift the liberal consensus amongst elites and professional managerial class(es) on questions of culture, identity, and public policy in the West. Attracting academics, activists, military figures, politicians, and capitalists from across the LIO, NatCon has created a venue for far-right elites to organize/harmonize the social forces opposed to some of the proposals, core principles, and influence of ‘globalist’ liberal elites and their collective intellectual institutions such as the World Economic Forum and Open Society Foundations.

This dissertation will then 1) examine the structural factors or contexts relevant to the rise of the contemporary far-right social forces within the LIO; 2) describe the ideological basis of the far-right’s opposition to the ideas, institutions, and material capabilities associated with the ‘left’ and/or elite liberal ‘establishment’; and 3) explore the case study of NatCon as an example of a transnational collective intellectual organization which represents a hegemonically ambitious far-right elite discourse coalition in the field of global governance. I will discuss how this emergent coalition, which I label as the Budapest Men, has designs for the transatlantic-bloc and world order. This bloc of social forces cannot be reduced to frequently used descriptors such as populist, nationalist, or illiberal.