New Right is used in several countries as a descriptive term for various policies or groups that are right-wing. It has also been used to describe the emergence of Eastern European parties after the collapse of the Soviet Union and systems using Soviet-style communism.
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Australia
In Australia the "New Right" refers to a late 1970s/1980s onward movement both within and outside of the Liberal/National Coalition which advocates economically liberal and increased socially conservative policies (as opposed to the "old right" which advocated economically conservative policies and small-l liberals with more socially liberal views). Unlike the United Kingdom and United States, but like neighbouring New Zealand, the 1980s saw the Australian Labor Party initiate Third Way economic reforms, which bear some familiarity to "New Right" ideology. After the John Howard Coalition ended the 13-year rule of the Hawke-Keating Labor government at the 1996 federal election, economic reforms were taken further, some examples being wholesale labor market deregulation (e.g. WorkChoices), the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax (GST), the privatisation of the telecommunications monopoly Telstra, and sweeping welfare reform including "work for the dole". The H. R. Nicholls Society, a think tank which advocates full workplace deregulation, contains some Liberal MPs as members and is seen to be of the New Right.
Economic liberalism, also called economic rationalism in Australia, was first used by Labor's Gough Whitlam. It is a philosophy which tends to advocate a free market economy, increased deregulation, privatisation, lower direct taxation and higher indirect taxation, and a reduction of the size of the welfare state. The politicians favouring New Right ideology were referred to as "dries", while those advocating continuation of the economic policies of the post-war consensus, typically Keynesian economics, or were more socially liberal, were called "wets" (the term "wets" was similarly used in Britain to refer to those Conservatives who opposed Thatcherite economic policies, but "dries" in this context was much rarer in British usage).
Brazil
The new right in Brazil has grown sharply in recent years within population, intelligentsia and academia. That is mainly due to a generalized discontent with the current left-wing government and its policies.
This new movement distinguishes itself from what is known in Brazil as "old right", which was ideologically associated to the Brazilian military government, Varguismo (Getulio Vargas policy) and Integralism. It is identified by positive views regarding democracy, personal freedom, free-market capitalism, reduction of bureaucracy, privatization of state-run companies, tax cuts, parliamentary, political reform. It rejects Cultural Marxism, Socialism of the 21st century and Populism.
There have been two major phenomenons relating to the rise of the new Brazilian right. The Movimento Brasil Livre (Free Brazil Movement) social movement, which has managed to bring together millions of people on demonstrations against the government in March 2015. The creation of the New Party (Partido Novo) and Libertários, the first liberal party since the First Brazilian Republic.
Some Brazilian new right thinkers are: Roberto Campos, Wilson Martins, Olavo de Carvalho, Luiz Felipe Pondé, Paulo Francis, José Guilherme Merquior, Bruno Tolentino and Miguel Reale.
Chile
The term New Right (Spanish: Nueva derecha) has come into mainstream political discourse since the election of Sebastián Piñera in 2010, when interior minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter used it to describe his government. Hinzpeter's introduction of the term caused a buzz among newspapers, politicians and analysts. According to a column published in The Clinic, the New Right is different from the old dictatorial right of Augusto Pinochet, in the sense that it embraces democracy. It is also different from the religiously conservative Unión Demócrata Independiente party, in that it is more open to discussing issues like divorce. According to the same analysis, the New Right is becoming increasingly pragmatic, as shown by their decision to increase taxes following the 2010 Chilean earthquake.
France
In France, the New Right (or Nouvelle Droite) has been used as a term to describe a modern think-tank of French political philosophers and intellectuals led by Alain de Benoist. Another noted intellectual, who was once part of Alain de Benoist's GRECE, is Guillaume Faye. Although accused by some critics as being "far-right" in their beliefs, they themselves claim that their ideas transcend the traditional left–right divide and actively encourages free debate. France also has one Identitarian New Right group (which is connected with Thule Seminar in Germany); that is Terre et Peuple of Pierre Vial, who was once an integral part and founding member of Alain de Benoist's GRECE.
Germany
In Germany, the Neue Rechte (literally, new right) consists of two parts: the Jungkonservative (literally, young conservatives), who search for followers in the civic part of the population; and, secondly, the "Nationalrevolutionäre" (national revolutionists), who are looking for followers in the ultra-right part of the German population, and use the rhetoric of right-wing politicians such as Gregor and Otto Strasser. Another noted New Right group in Germany is Thule Seminar of Pierre Krebs.
Netherlands
The New Right (NR) was the name of a far-right/nationalist political party in the Netherlands from 2003 to 2007. The Party for Freedom (PVV), founded in 2005 and led by Geert Wilders, also is a New Right movement. Since March 2017 Forum voor Democratie is another new right party in the parlement.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, as in Australia, it was the Labour Party that initially adopted "New Right" economic policies, while also pursuing social liberal stances such as decriminalisation of male homosexuality, pay equity for women and adopting a nuclear-free policy. This meant temporary realignment within New Zealand politics, as "New Right" middle-class voters voted Labour at the New Zealand general election, 1987 in approval of its economic policies. At first, Labour corporatised many former government departments and state assets, then emulated the Conservative Thatcher administration and privatised them altogether during Labour's second term of office. However, recession and privatisation together led to increasing strains within the Labour Party, which led to schism, and the exit of Jim Anderton and his NewLabour Party, which later formed part of the Alliance Party with the Greens and other opponents of New Right economics.
However, dissent and schism were not to be limited to the Labour Party and Alliance Party alone. During the Labour Party's second term in office, National selected Ruth Richardson as Opposition finance spokesperson, and when National won the 1990 general election, Richardson became Minister of Finance, while Jenny Shipley became Minister of Social Welfare. Richardson introduced deunionisation legislation, known as the Employment Contracts Act, in 1991, while Shipley presided over social welfare benefit cuts, designed to reduce "welfare dependency" – both core New Right policy initiatives.
In the early nineties, maverick National MP Winston Peters also came to oppose New Right economic policies, and led his elderly voting bloc out of the National Party. As a result, his New Zealand First anti-monetarist party has become a coalition partner to both National (1996–98) and Labour (2005–08) led coalition governments. Due to the introduction of the MMP electoral system, a New Right "Association of Consumers and Taxpayers" party, known as ACT New Zealand was formed by ex-Labour New Right-aligned Cabinet Ministers like Richard Prebble and others, and maintaining existing New Right policy initiatives such as the Employment Contracts Act, while also introducing US-style "welfare reform." ACT New Zealand aspired to become National's centre-right coalition partner, but has been hampered by lack of party unity and populist leadership that often lacked strategic direction.
As for Labour and National themselves, their fortunes have been mixed. Labour was out of office for most of the nineties, only regaining power when Helen Clark led it to victory and a Labour/Alliance coalition and centre-left government (1999–2002). However, the Alliance disintegrated in 2002.
National was defeated in 1999 due to the absence of a suitable, stable coalition partner given New Zealand First's partial disintegration after Winston Peters abandoned the prior National-led coalition. When Bill English took over National, it was thought that he might lead the Opposition away from its prior hardline New Right economic and social policies, but his indecisiveness and lack of firm policy direction led to ACT New Zealand gaining the New Right middle-class voting basis in 2002. When Don Brash took over, New Right middle-class voters returned to National's fold, causing National's revival in fortunes at the New Zealand general election, 2005. However, at the same time, ACT New Zealand strongly criticised it for deviating from its former New Right economic policy perspectives, and at the same election, National did little to enable ACT's survival. Don Brash resigned as National party leader, being replaced by John Key, who is seen as a more moderate National MP.
As for the centre-left, Helen Clark and her Labour-led coalition have been criticised from ex-Alliance members and non-government organisations for their alleged lack of attention to centre-left social policies, while trade union membership has recovered due to Labour's repeal of the Employment Contracts Act 1991 and labour market deregulation and the deunionisation that had accompanied it in the nineties. It is plausible that Clark and her Cabinet are influenced by Tony Blair and his British Labour Government, which pursues a similar balancing act between social and fiscal responsibility while in government.
Poland
In Poland, a conservative libertarian and eurosceptic political party Congress of the New Right (New Right) was founded on 25 March 2011 from former political parties Freedom and Lawfulness (WiP) and Real Politics Union (UPR) by Janusz Korwin-Mikke. It is backed up by disappointed voters, some conservatives, people who want to legalize marijuana and citizens who endorse free market and capitalism.
South Korea
In South Korea, the South Korean New Right movement is a Korean attempt at neoconservative politics. The Lee Myung-bak government led by President Lee Myung-bak and the conservative Grand National Party is noted for being a benefactor of the domestic New Right movement.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the term New Right more specifically refers to a strand of Conservatism that the likes of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan influenced. Thatcher's style of New Right ideology, known as Thatcherism, was heavily influenced by the work of Friedrich Hayek (in particular the book The Road to Serfdom). They were ideologically committed to an economic version of libertarianism as well as being socially conservative. Key policies included deregulation of business, a dismantling of the welfare state, privatization of nationalized industries and restructuring of the national workforce in order to increase industrial and economic flexibility in an increasingly global market.
United States
In the United States, New Right refers to two historically distinct conservative political movements, and currently the alt-right movement which includes right-wing ideologies that are an alternative to mainstream American conservatism. These American New Rights are distinct from and opposed to the more moderate tradition of the so-called Rockefeller Republicans. The New Right also differs from the Old Right (1933–55) on issues concerning foreign policy with neoconservatives being opposed to the non-interventionism of the Old Right.
First New Right
The first New Right (1955–64) was centered around the libertarians, traditionalists, and anti-communists at William F. Buckley's National Review. Sociologists and journalists had used new right since the 1950s; it was first used as self-identification in 1962 by the student activist group Young Americans for Freedom.
The first New Right embraced "fusionism" (classical liberal economics, traditional social values, and an ardent anti-communism) and coalesced through grassroots organizing in the years preceding the 1964 presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater. The Goldwater campaign, though failing to unseat incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson, galvanized the formation of a new political movement.
First New Right figures:
Second New Right
The second New Right (1964 to the present) was formed in the wake of the Goldwater campaign and had a more populist tone than the first New Right. The second New Right tended to focus on social issues and national sovereignty (such as the Panama Canal Treaty) and was often linked with the Religious Right. The second New Right formed a policy approach and electoral apparatus that brought Ronald Reagan into the White House in the 1980 presidential election. The New Right was organized in the American Enterprise Institute and The Heritage Foundation to counter the liberal establishment. In elite think tanks and local community organizations alike, new policies, marketing strategies, and electoral strategies were crafted over the succeeding decades to promote strongly conservative policies. It was mostly ignored by scholars until the late 1980s, but the formation of the New Right is now one of the fastest-growing areas of historical research.
Second New Right figures:
Alt-right
The alt-right is a right-wing to far right movement of ideologies that are an alternative to mainstream conservatism. It has "more in common with European far-right movements than American ones" and is unified by nationalism, opposition to multiculturalism and immigration, rejection of egalitarianism, and support for Donald Trump. The alt-right includes beliefs such as neoreaction, monarchism, nativism, populism, identitarianism, white nationalism, white supremacy, and Southern-secessionism. The term was introduced by Richard Spencer's AlternativeRight.com in 2010, gained prominence in 2015 after being identified by critics, and became more popular in 2016 after being mentioned on television. Proponents are said to use culture jamming and memes to promote their ideas. One leading proponent records parodies of Disney songs (such as I'll Make A Man Out Of You from Mulan) "with their discussions of white supremacy and generally racist and sexist lyrics". Some adherents also refer to themselves as identitarian, and criticize National Review and William F. Buckley for "not openly espousing, among other things, white nationalism, or white identarianism" such as in the video which is titled "The National Review" and is set to the tune of "The Bells of Notre Dame." The alt-right is younger than mainstream conservatism, and some express anti-Jewish, anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist views.
Alt-right figures: