U.S. organizations including Heritage Foundation, Alliance Defending Freedom, CPAC and American Renaissance are significant exporters and collaborators on extremist and authoritarian ideas; Hungarian connections prominent
The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) has released an in-depth report on its investigation into how far-right extremist movements are rapidly gaining ground through coordinated transnational networks. The report, “Mapping The Far Right: The Movement’s Conferences Illuminates Its Growing Transnational Networks,” provides a comprehensive analysis of 302 far-right conferences held across 35 countries between 2000 and 2024, highlighting the alarming globalization of hate-driven ideologies.
An extensive far-right international network has developed over the past two decades, clearly promoting coordinated campaigns that are undertaken in one country by far-right groups and influencers which leap quickly across borders and adopted wholesale by others on the far right. Key to this policy and campaign coordination are transnational far-right conferences, where movement leaders and supporters from multiple countries share their ideas. Through these interactions, relationships among far-right actors have deepened, creating a truly transnational movement that shares ideological positions, policy preferences, targets, tactics, and strategies. Many of those conferences have continued over years, if not decades, expanding their audiences and demonstrating that far-right ideologies increasingly transcend national borders.
Far-right activists are forthright about their global ambitions, which often target marginalized communities, restrict human rights, and push for more illiberal democratic systems. GPAHE’s report, based on data from 3,000 speakers and 1,800 organizations, uncovers the far right’s increasing capacity to organize, strategize, and advance agendas beyond national borders. These conferences have become critical platforms for extremist influencers to amplify their anti-LGBTQ+, anti-immigrant, and anti-woman rhetoric, fueled by white Christian Nationalism, solidifying a growing global network of far-right power.
“Over the past two decades, the far right has evolved from isolated national movements into a highly coordinated, transnational force,” said Wendy Via, CEO and co-founder of GPAHE. “What we see today is a global network that not only shares extremist ideologies but actively collaborates on strategies to roll back human rights at the national and international levels, which results in abusive policies and can stoke violence against marginalized communities.”
Key findings:
– A transnational platform of hate: GPAHE’s data reveals a highly coordinated network of conferences, drawing participants from North America, Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa. American organizations and individuals dominate the circuit, contributing to 34 percent of speakers. However, countries like Hungary and Russia, with authoritarian and rights-stripping leaders, are essential in promoting extremist views globally.
– The role of Project 2025: One of the standout players in this transnational network is the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a coordinated effort involving over 100 American far-right organizations, including Hillsdale College and the Alliance Defending Freedom. These groups are increasingly aligning with far-right factions in Europe, fostering relationships with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government and other authoritarian regimes.
– Mainstreaming extremism: Conferences like CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) and NatCon (National Conservatism) have become key sites for mainstreaming extremist views, attracting elected officials, think tank representatives, and media figures who blend traditional conservative rhetoric with far-right conspiracy theories like the “Great Replacement” and “gender ideology.”
– Far-right targeting of human rights: The report details how the network’s shared agenda directly contributes to backsliding on human rights protections. In multiple countries, anti-women, anti-immigrant, and anti-LGBTQ+ laws are being pushed through, and advocated for at transnational conferences, most often in the name of religious freedom and a false narrative of protecting country, rights, and family. Far-right ideologies have led to the erosion of reproductive rights in the U.S. and Poland, among others, as well as contributed to an environment where LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities are demonized.
An alarming aspect of the report is the significant involvement of the U.S. Republican Party (GOP) in these conferences. GPAHE’s data shows that representatives from the GOP have repeatedly participated in far-right events, further entrenching their links to extremist ideologies.
“Far-right conferences are not just ideological echo chambers; they are vital organizing arenas for the far right,” said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of GPAHE. “These conferences provide a space for activists to align policies, deepen alliances, and strategize on how to integrate their harmful ideologies into law and mainstream politics.”
GPAHE’s report uses network analysis to visualize the connections between individuals and organizations within the far-right ecosystem. Key metrics such as “degree centrality” and “eigenvector centrality” were employed to identify the most influential actors in the conference network. The report shows that a small percentage of individuals and organizations dominate the network, amplifying their reach across continents through repeat conference appearances and collaborations.
With the far right increasingly emboldened by international alliances, GPAHE warns that these conferences will continue to serve as pivotal forums for pushing authoritarian, xenophobic, and anti-democratic agendas unless confronted.
