Male Supremacism and the Making of Far-right Internationalism: Insights from Bolsonarism and Russia

This paper explores how male-supremacist discourses underpin the reconfiguration of global alignments within populist far-right foreign policy. While populism and its impacts on the international sphere has been widely examined, far-right and anti-liberal ideas—and their influence on the foreign policy of many populists leaders—remain under-explored, more so through a gendered lens. Focusing on Bolsonarism and Russia, the paper demonstrates how core foreign-policy texts in both contexts repeatedly invoke a specific form of hegemonic masculinity, linking male supremacy to the defense and survival of the nation-state as a central national interest. These gendered constructions shape understandings of “family values,” which Bolsonaro explicitly identified as enabling cross-country alliances with Russia. Using an inductive coding strategy based on the Discourse-Historical Approach and Poststructuralist Discourse Analysis, the study elucidates how discursive categories such as family values, the nation-state, and the “real” or “good” man are mobilised to explain Bolsonaro’s reframing of Russia—from a communist threat to a partner with “shared values.” The case offers insight into a broader ongoing transformation within far-right movements, long organised around anti-communism but now recalibrating their ideological orientation around anti-liberalism. This shift opens pathways for alliances with authoritarian actors historically positioned as adversaries of the West, including Russia.