When Right and Left Collide: ‘The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics’

Given its name, it might seem that the NRA—the National Rifle Association—is concerned with issues surrounding firearms in the United States.

And it is. But in his latest book, The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics, Dr. Clifford Bob, associate professor of political science, examines how the NRA and other right-wing organizations stir it up internationally. The book provides an eye-opening account of conservative global activism—its mobilization, strategies and goals—and its clashes with human rights, environmental and social justice organizations on gun rights, gay rights and other issues.

“Few scholars or journalists have examined how the right wing acts internationally,” Bob said. “It is powerful, it is important, and we need to pay attention to it to understand how policy is made nationally and internationally. Increasingly in recent years, right-wing groups have formed global networks and come into conflict with the left wing, much like they do in the United States. Both sides are linking up with local allies all over the world and bringing the culture wars to other places.”

Bob’s book analyzes how the NRA and an international network of gun groups have become active at the UN and in Latin American countries such as Brazil. “These conflicts are part of a larger, global clash over firearms regulation, with activists using developments in one country to score points in others,” said Bob, who received the Best Book Award from the International Studies Association for his previous book The Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgents, Media, and International Activism. “Even if you’re defeated in one place, you can fight on in others—and these groups do.”

The pattern is similar for conflict over many other issues. For instance, Bob examines what he calls the “Baptist-burqa” network, which aligns conservative Christian groups with Muslim countries to fight against gay rights worldwide. On environmental issues, such as global warming and genetically modified foods, rival international networks repeatedly clash within countries and at the UN.

Bob’s findings, which highlight the strategies activists use to battle one another, may change how campaigners fight, scholars study policy wars and everyone thinks about global politics. The Global Right Wing and the Clash of World Politics was published by Cambridge University Press as part of its series Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics.