Conservative and Government-sponsored Activism – Beyond GONGOs and Movements 'from above' and 'from below'

Abstract

The coming to power of new conservative and right-wing governments across the globe poses new questions to the study of conservative activism and engagement. Conservative civic activities are often both supportive of and supported by incumbent right-wing governments. The panel seeks to interrogate this interrelationship beyond concepts that implicitly assign the emergence of conservative activism to political elites' successful co-optation and manipulation attempts. This implies a shift in the empirical focus to rank-and-file actors and their environments as well as to local networks and organizational structures. By comparing different case studies, the panel shall foster a debate about how to relate micro-analyses of conservative activism to right-wing governments' encroachment on public discourse and funding of a so-called uncivil society. The panel relates to the Section theme as it explores the overlaps between a) studies on participation and mobilization, b) research on the rise of (new) conservative ideology, c) research on post-Soviet societies.