Russia as an international conservative power: the rise of the right-wing populists and their affinity towards Russia

The majority of right-wing populists across the West share two fundamental commonalities – the rejection of liberal ideals that have laid the foundation for Western unity, and greater affinity towards Russia. Western right-wing populists and Russia share the ambition to revive classical conservatism, which addresses how to manage change, a key focus throughout the 19th century and early 20th century when modernity challenged social integrity and coherence. Russia has returned to its pre-communist role as the go-to-country for classical conservatives in the West, although four decades of the neoliberalism consensus in the West has eviscerated classical conservatism. In its vacuum, populists are rising on a platform that scorns the unfettered liberalism of political elites as an assault on the community. Empathy with Russia, if not a common cause, is challenging the ideational structures and division of Europe.After the Cold War, the capitalist-communist divide was recast as a liberal democracy–authoritarian divide, which is now undermined by populists’ view of the world split along a national-patriotism versus cosmopolitan-globalism divide where Russia transitions from being an adversary to an ally.