Western civilisation’s eastern defenders. Transnational right-wing networks from ideas to action

This article investigates the articulation and institutionalisation of ‘civilisationism’ within an emerging international illiberal network that originated in North American conservatism but now centres on collaborative efforts among Central European right-wing intellectuals and think tanks. The network's declared objective is the renewal of Western politics, institutions, and ultimately ‘civilisation’ itself-conceptualised as fundamentally rooted in Western Christianity and classical antiquity, and positioned in explicit opposition to liberalism. This ideological framework enables a strategic reimagining of the ‘West’ as historically and philosophically distinct from liberal democracy. Our analysis traces the network's evolution, examining the intellectual currents that mobilise epistemic resources, cultivate transnational connections, and navigate internal tensions. Using an analytical framework that combines Gramscian and Bourdieusian sociologies of intellectuals and ideational knowlegde production, we distinguish between a first generation of conservative intellectuals and a more recent second wave of activist organisations engaged in transnational network-building initiatives such as the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and educational venues, such as the Mathias Corvinus Collegium or Collegium Intermarium.