American Patriots for a Conservative Europe

If the 2024 American elections go well for Republicans, there are many ways for American conservatives to assist their European counterparts.

One of the most lamentable features of the contemporary foreign policy discourse is the commonplace occurrence of Atlanticist liberals accusing American conservatives of being “anti-Europe” or of “turning their backs on Europe.” Some conservatives have allowed themselves to fall into this stereotype and become dismissive of Europeans.

However, the developing conservatism (that we as postliberals seek to assist in the formation of), is not “anti-Europe” in any sense of the word, and indeed is what is best for Europe even while we put our own interests as Americans first. If anything, should conservative advocates of realism and restraint in foreign policy come to power this November, it could prove to be greatly beneficial for Europe. Furthermore, a Trump administration could also prove to be a veritable bonanza for Europe’s currently besieged social conservatives.

An entirely dishonest aspect of the accusation that American conservatives are anti-Europe concerns the ongoing debate about NATO and the role of the United States within the alliance system. In this debate, liberal internationalists routinely accuse their conservative and foreign policy realist opponents of being “anti-Europe” for everything ranging from wanting Europe to pay its fair share in defense, proposing a détente with Russia, to advocacy of a strategic pivot towards the Indo-Pacific.

Of course, none of these things are remotely anti-Europe, and conservative realists are but advocating sanity. Indeed, they are pro-Europe, as a Europe that can defend itself (without having America foot its defense bill in both blood and treasure) is a Europe that is freer to pursue its own interests. 

Antagonizing Russia is also not in the interest of Europe, a fact recognized by conservative leaders such as Viktor Orban, by European energy consumers, and by European voters, as shown by this year’s elections for the European Union parliament. Nor does antagonizing Russia even benefit the countries on whose behalf it is ostensibly done. For instance, the conflicts in both Georgia and Ukraine were the result of attempts to expand NATO, as has been conclusively documented by Sumantra Maitra in his book The Sources of Russian Aggression.

Contrary to the claims of the liberal internationalists, détente and reconciliation with Russia is ultimately the truly pro-Europe position. Russia, though some might deny it, is at its core a Western nation built on the same Christian principles as our own. While contemporary Russia has many issues (such as abortion and low religious attendance), and we must avoid idealizing it, its ongoing struggles mirror our own.

Thus, the current division between Russia and the West can only be described as a tragedy, and for the West to overcome its current malaise, we cannot afford for Western civilization to be divided against itself as it is now due to the attempts of NATO to alienate the Russians. We instead must work together with the Russians to help overcome the challenges that afflict all of Western civilization, both spiritually and politically, and this necessarily requires giving Russia a seat at the table as part of the West and as part of Europe. 

Beyond the more obvious sphere foreign policy, a change in administration in Washington can greatly benefit European social conservatives on a plethora of issues.

The first among these is abortion, where Europe (though considerably more moderate on the issue than the American left) has began to drift in an even more pro-abortion direction, as a result of American leftist influence. The best example of this came in 2022 when France’s President Emanuel Macron, as well as his then Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, rammed through France’s parliament an amendment enshrining the “right” to abortion in France’s constitution.

Attal, speaking on behalf of the Macron government at the time, explicitly admitted that this was due to American affairs, and that the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the United States Supreme Court served as the impetus for him to make this move.

While it may seem odd that a French President would change the constitution of his country due to American politics, it is an entirely reasonable assumption to argue that the move was due to American influence in Europe and due to the preponderance of liberal beliefs among the transatlantic elite.

Macron adding abortion to France’s constitution should be seen not as a development in a foreign country, but merely as a liberal action in one province of the American Empire taken in response to a (rare) pro-life victory. In this sense, Macron, acting as the satrap of the liberal internationalist blob, acted no different in adding abortion to the constitution of his province of the American Empire than did Newsom in adding abortion to the constitution of his (also in 2022). 

Because of this dynamic, wherein European liberals will take actions to appease the liberals in Washington, a conservative, restraint-minded, administration in Washington, particularly one that seeks to challenge the long-standing orthodoxies of liberal internationalism (such as Trump intends), would be a good start to the advancement of socially conservative policies in Western Europe. Should Washington successfully cease aiding European liberals, European conservatives will have a much greater ability to promote healthier visions for their own societies. 

Further afield in Central Europe, Atlanticist influence is directly opposed to various pro-life and pro-family parties, such as Law and Justice (PiS) in Poland, and Fidesz in Hungary. In Poland, for instance, the European Union used $100 billion in frozen funds as leverage to help overthrow Poland’s pro-life government and replace it with the (worringly authoritarian) government of Donald Tusk, whose government has made it a priority to legalize abortion (though it failed in its attempts thus far).

These European Union-led efforts were paired with a campaign in the American media, spearheaded by Anne Applebaum (who is married to Tusk’s foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski) to demonize the pro-life government of PiS as “autocratic” and “authoritarian” (charges which proved to be ironic in hindsight, given Tusk’s salami tactics).

In nearby Hungary, despite the more gradualist approach of the ruling Fidesz Party to the issues of life and family, the external pressure from Atlanticists is even stronger. For instance, the American ambassador, David Pressman (who does not even speak Hungarian) openly organizes “LGBT picnics” as to antagonize the pro-family government of Viktor Orban, among countless other things.

While it is obvious that most Americans would disagree with Pressman, and the promotion of anti-family and anti-life policies in Central Europe, it is necessary that a second Trump administration take power in Washington to end the promotion of the extreme social liberalism currently being pushed by the Atlanticists.

America (much like Russia) is part of the Western world, and as a country we will always be culturally connected to the mother continent, even if we are on its periphery. Hence, a conservative shift in European affairs, will in turn assist American conservatives in accomplishing our own goals, as there is somewhat of a transatlantic dialectic between the United States and Europe, wherein the synthesis of American and European affairs end up creating the standards for the West.

Thus, for American conservatism (especially of a postliberal variety) to succeed, similar movements in Europe (such as PiS or Fidesz) must be successful in Europe, and the success of these movements is ultimately in our own interest. It is imperative, for our own success, that we roll-back the postwar liberal consensus, as to allow European conservative movements to succeed, as their success will rebound to our benefit at home.

For these conservative movements to succeed it is necessary that America replace liberal Atlanticism with realism and restraint, so that European conservatives gain the space and the breathing room to begin to push the overton window in a pro-family and pro-life direction.

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