The Illiberalism Studies Program presents this short collection of essays from our “Frontiers of American Reaction” series. These essays, published between 2022 and 2026, take stock of the cultural, political, and spiritual tumult that has come to characterize American politics—in some instances looking to the past to understand the origins of our moment, and in others looking at the thinkers, ideologies, and activists who are working on new visions of the future. We have published dozens of essays over the last few years, by thoughtful scholars from across the country and around the world. There was a lot to choose from; these were some of our favorites.
To contend with the rising tides of illiberalism, citizens in liberal democracies around the world will perhaps, as Harvey Mansfield contends, need to recover their sense of civic virtue. They will certainly need to rekindle their capacities for bold new visions, be they economic or cultural, local or technological. We hope these essays can help develop the terrain for such new visions and explorations.
