The right/populist movements have been presented with an historic opportunity to push back against a range of once-untouchable social developments: the rapid spread of Islam and Islamist values across large parts of the West, virtually unchecked open borders, the institutionalisation of progressive cultism, bureaucratic waste, and so on. Voters across the board are looking for ways to course correct on these, and other, issues.

In response, a significant section of the conservative sphere have gone all in on conspiracy theories, pseudo-science, Jew-hate, racism, and illiberalism.

These tendencies have long existed on the fringes of the right (some would argue they’ve always been present), but they’ve accelerated dramatically in recent years. Whether this faction drifts into relative—mostly online—obscurity or gets absorbed and legitimised by mainstream politics is, in my view, one of the defining questions of our time.

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