Presentation short abstract

The presentation introduces a special issue on 'Centre-right politics of environment', to be published in Environmental Politics in 2026, examining the growing ambivalence and strategic repositioning of centre-right environmental politics amid the global mainstreaming of the far right.

Presentation long abstract

This special issue examines the growing ambivalence and strategic repositioning of centre-right environmental politics amid the global mainstreaming of the populist far right. While historically marked by inconsistency, reactive posturing, and pressures from left-leaning competitors, the centre-right now faces intensified ideological and electoral challenges as far-right actors advance more nuanced environmental narratives and reshape the political spectrum. Bringing together diverse cases, methods, and scholars from multiple regions, the issue establishes a systematic research agenda that explores how the centre-right seeks to (re)construct its environmental identity, how internal ideological diversity shapes its approaches, and how it navigates relationships with green, left, and far-right actors as well as global environmental governance, from national stewardship to disputes around climate justice and green colonialism.

Our introduction examines the transformative pathways of centre-right ecologies in the context of far-right mainstreaming. We propose a typology of shifts in centre-right environmental politics that accounts for ideological variation within the tradition, most notably the social conservative and libertarian strands and their ambivalent ties to nationalist and populist currents. In doing so, we probe the key points of contention between the center and the far right, including the role of social responsibility, the state and the market. Our key contribution, however are the four key mechanisms of change: contamination, reverse contamination, alignment, and collusion. Overall, the introduction problematizes the role of the political mainstream in deepening the ecological crisis, underscoring the centre’s troubling ambivalence in shaping the future of environmental politics.