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. Consultingtexts collected from different media and forms of communication, this paper asks how theseactors view ‘the Anglosphere,’ a distinct geopolitical space that challenges seemingly stable‘Western’ and ‘Euro-Atlantic’ identities and identifications. ‘The’ European radical being a kindof empty signifier, the analysis identifies multiple discourses that simultaneously inform andchallenge each other. ‘National conservatism’ treats the Anglosphere as part of a larger Westernworld – albeit one that has been overwhelmed by the worst excesses of liberalism. ‘Angloskepticism’constructs the Anglosphere as Other, a blend of America’s uninvited imperialismand an Anglo-Saxon civilisation-state. ‘Neo-Eurasianism’ agrees with Anglo-skepticism on theAnglosphere’s fundamental otherness but casts it as an enemy rather than a ‘mere’ rival. Thethree discourses suggest contrasting and complementary understanding of international order.National conservatives aim to morally and politically recast the West. In contrast, Anglo-skepticsand neo-Eurasianists abandon this aspiration, instead emphasising greater ‘sovereignty’ and‘strategic independence’ for Europe. As these previously fringe visions seep into the Europeanpolitical mainstream, they gain significance for the ongoing international reordering.