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Radical right-wing actors from a wide variety of different countries are increasingly engaging in international networking activities – with Europe and the USA serving as the ideological and organisational hubs for the export of right-wing ideologies around the world. Members of the radical right come together at conferences to exchange strategy ideas, pulling together in the European Parliament in an attempt to block liberal rulings.
What unites them all is their hate for the “global liberal elite” and for the latter’s commitment to free trade, human rights and equality, especially with regard to the minorities these “elites” support, first and foremost migrants and LGBTQ+ people.
The radical right are growing because so many people feel let down by globalisation and reject cultural change as well as increased rights for minorities. They garner support by exploiting people’s fear of downward social mobility, immigration and the loss of culture.
Instrumental in driving this development is social media and messenger services. On the one hand, these services facilitate international networking and the exchange of information between right-wing actors. On the other hand, they provide opportunities for direct communication, enabling conspiracy narratives, fake news and hate speech to be purposefully spread. Emotions such as anger and hate are used strategically to polarise societies and play certain groups off against each another. Conservative, radical and profit-oriented media, having recognised the populist politics of fear and anger as an extremely profitable business model, are all too willing to help the radical right anchor their narratives in people’s minds, including outside social media.
What can liberal and progressive forces do to counter this development? They, too, have to strengthen their networks and work together to form a strong alliance of democratic forces that can stand up to the radical right. This includes using education and communication to highlight the benefits of diversity and democracy; promoting inclusion and integration in society to reduce inequality and discontent; and combatting misinformation as well as strengthening protection against disinformation in the media.
Between 2000 and 2024, the radical right established numerous cross-border contacts and built up an extensive network:
A total of 3,000 speakers from 1,800 differentorganisations participated in 302 conferences and other events in 35 countries.
The actors involved in the organisation of two major conference series (CPAC and NatCon) are the ones at the heart of what has been referred to as a “truly transnational movement” (GPAHE 2024).
The radical right is increasingly engaging in cross-border networking to export their ideologies worldwide. Thomas Greven analyses the strategies used…
The “radical right” are made up of more than just the traditional right-wing radical and extremist parties. It also includes mainstream conservative parties, which have in parts already been radicalised and/or are increasingly prepared to cooperate with right-wing extremist parties, in doing so normalising the positions held by the latter.
Right-wing actors put the interests of their own country first and, at the same time, are developing international networks that seek to establish an anti-minority, authoritarian world order and taking a firm stand together against the defenders of the liberal democracy.
The main factor uniting the radical right from around the world is their negative, “anti” stance: anti-globalism, anti-immigration, anti-Islam, anti-“wokeism” (anti-LGBTQ and anti-gender identity), anti-liberalism, anti-establishment – and sometimes even antisemitism. At the same time, their ideological frame is also formulated affirmatively: nation, sovereignty, the people, tradition, family – and sometimes even white supremacy.
More and more, we are seeing radical right-wing actors and polarisation entrepreneurs holding international meetings and conferences where their impassioned audience celebrates them like popstars. The Conservative Political Action Conference in Hungary in 2024, for instance, brought together 3,000 participants from six continents to hear 80 speakers from around the world. These included two current prime ministers – Viktor Orbán and Irakli Kobakhidze – alongside three former prime ministers (Tony Abbott, Mateusz Moriawecki and Janez Janša). Together they railed against immigration and gender ideology.
Radical right-wing parties are using right-wing influencers and platforms such as TikTok, X and Instagram to disseminate extremist narratives, conspiracy theories, fake news and hate speech. The radical right are assisted in this by conservative, radical and profit-oriented media who have recognised the populist politics of fear and anger as an extremely profitable business model.
In light of the countless crises negatively impacting our lives (global refugee movements; the climate crisis; military conflicts; the threat of yet another pandemic), many people feel that democracy has broken its promises. And this is something the radical right-wing parties benefit from by pillorying the state and presenting themselves as an alternative.
Right-wing radicals such as Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán claim that they are the true democrats. In fact, under the guise of “illiberal democracy”, they are purposefully dismantling key elements of liberal democracy, such as minority rights or the independence of the constitutional courts.
Europe’s radical right-wing politicians sell themselves as “defenders of Europe” and its “true values”. They want to protect Europe from both external and internal “enemies”: the global liberal elite and the minorities they allegedly favour, such as migrants and LGBTIQ+ people.
Hungary has become a “Mecca for right-wing extremists” – the place from whence the model of “illiberal democracy” will be exported to other countries. Orbán refers to his country as a laboratory that has come up with the antidote for “progressive dominance”, and he invites other countries to follow suit. Organisations close to Orbán provide cross-border assistance in election campaigns and were the inspiration for the government programme for Trump’s second term, such that some are already referring to an imminent “Orbánisation of the USA”.
Thanks to his re-election, Donald Trump is once again being styled as a leading figure for the global radical right movement. Fuelled by social media, the radical right’s cross-border contacts and mutual inspiration between Europe and the USA will continue to go from strength to strength.
Dr. Thomas Greven is Adjunct Professor of political science ('Privatdozent') at Freie Universität Berlin and an independent author and political consultant. An expert in US politics and foreign policy, he teaches at the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies. Since 2002, he has co-organised a transatlantic network to fight the radical right.
