What is the "woke right"?
Definition
The expression “woke right” is used by some commentators to describe right-of-centre actors who copy the rhetoric, tactics and moral framework normally associated with progressive “wokeness,” but redeploy them in defence of conservative or nationalist goals. Typical examples offered are the embrace of identity-based grievance (e.g., presenting Christians or whites as oppressed), demands for ideological conformity, and calls for the use of state or corporate power to sanction opponents or remove “harmful” speech [2].
Origins of the term
- Luc Talks traces the phrase to the late 2010s, arguing that as progressive activists succeeded in reshaping institutional norms, a faction of the right learned that “moralised victimhood and public shaming work,” and has begun to imitate those tools [2].
- Kaufmann, by contrast, says the label arose mainly from left-leaning critics who wish to portray any assertive cultural conservatism as an extremist mirror image of wokeness [3].
Key characteristics proposed by advocates of the label
1. Identity politics from the right – emphasis on “Christian nationalism,” “white replacement,” or “rural / fly-over America” as protected identities [2]. 2. A sacralised moral narrative – framing conservative causes (e.g., opposition to gender ideology) as a struggle against systemic oppression [2]. 3. Punitive activism – support for boycotts, de-platforming or state penalties aimed at progressive institutions (for instance, celebrating Florida’s punishment of Disney) [2].
Contested status
Erick Kaufmann rejects the concept outright, arguing that wokeness is defined by its elevation of historically marginalised groups to sacred status; because the right’s “identity” groups are not treated as sacred by elite culture, there can be no genuine “woke right.” To him, calling conservative populists “woke” merely obscures the asymmetry between the two movements [3].
Broader discourse
The disagreement reflects a wider debate about whether the post-Cold-War ideological landscape is giving way to a new alignment based on culture rather than economics. CTCG argues that the “post-war dream” of universal liberal consensus has ended, and that both left and right are experimenting with more openly illiberal strategies [1]. Within that environment, some analysts predict further growth of a rhetorically “woke” but substantively conservative politics, while others insist the term is conceptually incoherent [3].
Summary
In short, for supporters of the label the “woke right” denotes conservatives who imitate progressive activist methods—identity-based moralising, public shaming and coercive tactics—while pursuing right-wing cultural goals. Critics respond that the core of wokeness is not the tactics but the progressive moral hierarchy itself, and therefore the phrase misleads more than it clarifies.
Sources
[1] CTCG, “The Post-War Dream Is Dead,” Substack, 2023. https://ctcg.substack.com/p/the-post-war-dream-is-dead (argues the liberal settlement is breaking down, setting the stage for new illiberal movements). [2] Luc Talks, “The Woke Right and Its Discontents,” Substack, 2023. https://luctalks.substack.com/p/the-woke-right-and-its-discontents (defines and criticises the emergence of a ‘woke right’). [3] Erick Kaufmann, “Bats Are Not Birds: Why There Is No ‘Woke Right’,” Substack, 2023. https://erickaufmann.substack.com/p/bats-are-not-birds-why-there-is-no (argues the term is conceptually wrong; wokeness cannot be replicated on the right).