Cosmopolitan Conservatisms Introduction

With the rise to prominence of conservative, nationalist, and antiliberal ideologies across the world, the study of the transnational genesis and development of conservative and ‘anti-modern’ traditions has gained a new urgency. In this introduction, the editors examine how the application of methodologies and concepts thus far mainly reserved to the study of notions of modernity, liberalism, or progress could enhance our knowledge of (global) antidemocratic/ counter-revolutionary movements, starting in the early 18th century. This introduction (1) discusses the long-term historical transformation of conservative ideas and rhetoric through the lens of transnational connections; (2) presents conservatism as an essential part and manifestation of internationalism, cosmopolitanism, and universalism beyond their usual “liberal” or “progressive” connotations; (3) historicizes the meaning and interrelations concepts such as “conservatism”, “counterrevolution”, “the right”, “reaction, or “counter-Enlightenment” in different temporal, geographical, and linguistic contexts; and (4) demonstrates that the evolution of conservatisms is closely linked to the history of institutions, networks and mobile thinker-agents.