Antifeminism as a Human Right?

On the Reinterpretation of Human Rights Discourse by Conservative and Far-Right Actors

Abstract

This article examines the strategic appropriation and ideological reframing of human rights discourses by conservative and far-right actors, with a particular focus on Christian fundamentalist networks such as Agenda Europe. While human rights are commonly understood as a universal normative framework designed to promote equality and protect marginalised groups, recent developments suggest that actors opposed to feminist and LGBTIQA+ rights are increasingly mobilising the language and symbolism of human rights to legitimise exclusionary political agendas. The article is based on a close analysis of the policy document Restoring the Natural Order.  Its two central aims are as follows. First, it argues that the reinterpretation and appropriation of rights discourses constitute key political strategies within these movements and therefore merit closer scholarly attention. Second, it shows how Christian fundamentalist actors articulate a notion of ‘true human rights’ that are supposedly derived from an immutable ‘natural law.’ Within this framework, rights that conflict with this order - such as access to abortion or the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, are systematically portrayed as illegitimate or ‘false’ rights. The analysis identifies three interrelated tactics used to reframe human rights in this context: delegitimization, reinterpretation and co-optation. These serve not only to undermine specific rights claims, but also to challenge the very foundations of the human rights project by redefining its normative scope along conservative, hierarchical and exclusionary lines. The paper concludes that this ideological reconfiguration poses a significant threat to the inclusive and democratic potential of human rights discourses, particularly feminist achievements.