THE RIGHT-WING CONSERVATIVE TURN IN EUROPE: CONTOURS OF THE PHENOMENON

Abstract

Party systems across Europe are undergoing a visible realignment: conservative and right-wing forces are gaining electoral support, and their agenda – national sovereignty, migration, security, cultural identity – has moved from the periphery of European politics to its centre. Since 2022 a technological dimension has been added to that agenda: digital sovereignty, cyber resilience, and the regulation of artificial intelligence. The manifestations and consequences of this process differ across states to a degree that calls for comparative analysis. The aim of the study is to identify the prerequisites, features and manifestations of the right-wing conservative turn in Europe and to assess its impact on the transformation of political systems, party competition, and state policy in the technological domain. The study draws on comparative, systemic and historical-political methods. The comparative method is used to juxtapose political processes across European states; the systemic method, to analyse the relationship between parties, the electorate and the institutional environment; the historical-political method, to establish the prerequisites of contemporary right-wing conservative trends. Party programme documents and EU legal acts are also analysed. The study finds that the right-wing conservative turn cannot be reduced to the growing popularity of radical right parties. It encompasses a broader range of changes in political discourse and in the activity of conservative and centre-right forces. Its principal manifestations include heightened attention to national sovereignty, migration policy, national identity and security; a critical stance toward certain aspects of European integration; and the extension of sovereignty claims into the digital and technological sphere. The character of the process nevertheless depends on the historical, socio-economic and institutional context of each state. The right-wing conservative turn is a complex political process accompanied by shifts in party competition, societal priorities, and modes of interaction between national governments and European institutions. It follows no single model of development, and its study therefore requires a differentiated comparative analysis of individual states, parties and electoral groups.