Objectives
What is conservative political thought and how is it different from such ideologies as liberalism or socialism? How and in what ways does conservatism develop as a specifically antiliberal reaction against the French Revolution? In what way can the history of conservative political thinking help us understand the contemporary political developments in Western countries, especially the rise of right-wing populism and far-right movements that redeploy this antiliberal heritage in different ways? How is conservatism related to and yet different from contemporary right-wing populism?
By examining these questions, this course offers an overview of Western antiliberal political thought. The course opens with a historical overview of classical conservatism that forms as a rection to the French Revolution and then gradually moves toward analyzing the novel forms of contemporary conservative political thought through this history. In analyzing contemporary developments, the course focuses particularly on contemporary right-wing populism in its various forms. The purpose of the course is to offer students a deeper understanding of conservatism and populism as specific political ideologies and to provide conceptual tools for critically assessing some of today’s central political developments in Europe and beyond.
What is conservative political thought and how is it different from such ideologies as liberalism or socialism? How and in what ways does conservatism develop as a specifically antiliberal reaction against the French Revolution? In what way can the history of conservative political thinking help us understand the contemporary political developments in Western countries, especially the rise of right-wing populism and far-right movements that redeploy this antiliberal heritage in different ways? How is conservatism related to and yet different from contemporary right-wing populism?
By examining these questions, this course offers an overview of Western antiliberal political thought. The course opens with a historical overview of classical conservatism that forms as a rection to the French Revolution and then gradually moves toward analyzing the novel forms of contemporary conservative political thought through this history. In analyzing contemporary developments, the course focuses particularly on contemporary right-wing populism in its various forms. The purpose of the course is to offer students a deeper understanding of conservatism and populism as specific political ideologies and to provide conceptual tools for critically assessing some of today’s central political developments in Europe and beyond.
- Teacher
Suuronen Ville