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Ultraconservatism are conservatives of the far right on the political spectrum, comprising groups or individuals who are located to the right of those willing to temporarily agree with political moderates and continuing to further right to include fringe parties. Elements of ultraconservatism typically rely on cultural crisis; they frequently support anti-globalism – adopting stances of anti-immigration, nationalism and sovereignty – utilize populism and exploit political polarization with in-group and out-group practices. The primary economic ideology for most ultraconservatives is neoliberalism. The use of conspiracy theories is also common amongst ultraconservatives.

Examples

Americas

Brazil

President Jair Bolsonaro was described as an ultraconservative during his tenure, often aligning his views with President Donald Trump. Upon taking office, Bolsonaro nominated ultraconservative Damares Alves to head the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship. His government would go on to be headed by elites who and broadened extractivist activities in the Amazon rainforest while having confrontations with the indigenous peoples in Brazil.

United States

In the United States, ultraconservatism first appeared when right-wing politicians and businesses led opposition to the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Beginning in the 1960s during the Cold War, ultraconservatism began to rise to prominence, especially with the radical right organization, the John Birch Society. At this time, ultraconservatives were anticommunist and opposed to the civil rights movement, trade unions and social programs. Members of the John Birch Society believed that the civil rights movement would lead to the creation of a Soviet Negro Republic in the Southern United States. In 1961, Jacob Javits would say that ultraconservatism "represents a danger to the Republican party" as it was "moving the party farther to the right ... would transform the Republican party into and fringe party". Beginning in the 1970s, ultraconservatives attempted to establish their principles into the government and culture of the United States with the use of think tanks, political action committees and lobbyists. These groups were typically supported by wealthy individuals, including the Koch brothers, the families of Richard and Dick DeVos, the Walton family and Richard Mellon Scaife. Ultraconservatives would then "mark some groups, seemingly based on race, class and immigration status" in an effort to polarize the public, saying that some groups were "parasitic" to the economy and took away resources from wealthy individuals who could improve the economy.

Into the 21st century, the Second New Right, specifically during the tenure of George W. Bush, became more ultraconservative with some elements of neofascism, adopting views supporting strict law and order, the defense of private property and using nationalism to describe a mythical "past national glory". Following the election of Barack Obama in 2008, ultraconservatives made alarmist statements about the United States debt ceiling, calling for cuts to social spending. During the Obama administration, ultraconservatives would organize white Americans into the Tea Party movement and disseminate a message of "taking back our country" from Obama, the first African-American president, and creating the Birther movement.

Europe

The term "ultraconservative" has occasionally been used interchangeably with fascism, ultranationalism and radical populism when describing the Radical right in Europe.

Hungary

In its first years, Jobbik held ultraconservative stances, promoting anticommunism and anti globalism as some of its core principles, though it became more successful as its views became more moderate.

References

1. Huntington 2021, p. 4, Ultraconservatives occupy a broad section of the right-wing continuum, wedged between conservative pragmatists, those willing to moderate their views and work with the political center, and fringe extremists. ... When viewed in this light, the far right shifts from the periphery to the core of the conservative typology..
2. Barreiros, Mencía Montoya (2023-01-10). "¿Qué es el neoconservadurismo?". El Orden Mundial (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-04-29.
3. ^ Huntington 2021, p. 4.
4. ^ De Sá Guimarães, Feliciano; De Oliveira E Silva, Irma Dutra (March 2021). "Far-right populism and foreign policy identity: Jair Bolsonaro's ultra-conservatism and the new politics of alignment". International Affairs. 97 (2). Oxford University Press: 345–346. ultraconservative governments. This deep conservative identity-set emphasizes three interrelated national role conceptions: (1) an anti-globalist role, composed of narratives in opposition to international institutions; (2) a nationalist role, composed of pro-sovereignty narratives; and (3) an anti-foe role, composed of friend/foe narratives.
5. ^ Nelson, Linda Williamson; Robison, Maynard T. (2013). "Which Americans Are More Equal and Why: The Linguistic Construction of Inequality in America". Race, Gender & Class. 20 (1/2): 294–306.
6. ^ Polimédio, Chayenne (2018-10-06). "Brazil's Fiery Far-Right Presidential Favorite Channels Trump". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
7. Kirby, Jen (2019-01-02). "What you need to know about Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's new far-right president". Vox. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
8. Neto Manuel, Domingos; Moreira Luis Gustavo, Guerreiro (January 2023). "Bolsonaro, the Last Colonizer". Latin American Perspectives. 50 (1): 47–63. Under the ultraconservative Bolsonaro government, the state has been taken over by elites with rural and extractive capital who plan on exploiting the Amazon rain forest at any cost and see indigenous peoples as an obstacle to their goal.
9. ^ Gart, Jason H. (Autumn 2019). "The Defense Establishment in Cold War Arizona, 1945-1968". The Journal of Arizona History. 60 (3): 301–332. Ultraconservatism, which combined traditional anticommunist rhetoric with fresh acrimony toward civil rights legislation, welfare programs, organized labor, and taxation
10. ^ Stephens, Randall J. (30 December 2021). "Tracing the origins of today's ultraconservatives". The Washington Post.
11. ^ "Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 89th Congress, First Session" (PDF). United States Congress. 10 August 1965. a recent meeting in Chicago attended by the apostles of rightwing extremism and ultraconservatism, Mr. Robert Welch, ... founder and titular head of the John Birch Society, ... charged that the civil rights movement is being guided by Communists to dismember American society. He said that the Communist master plan calls for an in- dependent Negro-Soviet republic
12. Huntington 2021, p. 180.
13. Huntington 2021, p. 136.
14. "Javits Warns G.O.P.: Says Ultra-Conservatism Is a Danger to the Party". The New York Times. 8 December 1961. p. 26.
15. Giroux, Henry A. (2006). "The Emerging Authoritarianism in the United States: Political Culture under the Bush/Cheney Administration". Symplokē. 14 (1/2). University of Nebraska Press: 103.
16. Cerny, Karl H. (Spring 2000). "The Radical Right in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989". Perspectives on Political Science. 29 (2): 110.
17. Polyakova, Alina; Shekhovtsov, Anton (Spring 2016). "On the Rise: Europe's Fringe Right". World Affairs. 179 (1): 70–80.

Bibliography

• Huntington, John S. (2021). Far-right Vanguard: The Radical Roots of Modern Conservatism. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 136. ISBN 9780812253474.

• Conservatism
• Right-wing ideologies
• Far-right politics
• Political terminology
• Political spectrum