Neoconservatism

The Strategist

«Democracy must be defended, even by force.»

Combines markets and traditional values with an assertive foreign policy: democracy and the West must be defended, by military force if necessary.

In short

On the traditional scale, this ideology sits in the law-and-order center-right camp. The clearest positions are on foreign policy: strongly towards “interventionism”; economy: strongly towards “market”; justice: strongly towards “tough on crime”; state: fairly towards “authority”. Among the other ideologies, the closest is national conservatism (91%).

Principles

Interventionist foreign policy
The primacy of the West
Markets and values

An active foreign policy to spread democracy, with traditional values at home.

Common criticisms

Wrong warsThe 2003 Iraq War became the symbol of its mistakes.

Imposed democracyCritics doubt it can be exported at gunpoint.

CostsLong interventions cost lives and resources.

Where it comes from

It emerged in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s among former liberal intellectuals like Irving Kristol; influential under Reagan and George W. Bush.

Key figures: Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill

Further reading: Of Paradise and Power — Robert Kagan; The End of History and the Last Man — Francis Fukuyama