It’s peculiar to observe that the main opponents of the war in Ukraine tend to come from the hard right. Ironically, today, its anti-interventionist stance sounds quite similar to the hard left it once vehemently opposed. Many Republicans, including Senators Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and J.D. Vance, have criticized President Biden’s support for an “endless war” in Ukraine, alleging unlimited arms supplies. Former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also expressed opposition to Western aid for Ukraine, but DeSantis later changed his stance. Meanwhile, conservative intellectuals such as Peter Hitchens and Rod Dreher, along with Tucker Carlson, have criticized President Zelensky and opposed the war. The American Conservative opposes the war on principle, while the Federalist does so opportunistically. Nonetheless, is there a coherent philosophical grounding for their anti-war stance? On the surface, it appears not.
In contrast to the antiwar left’s instinctive pacifism, the antiwar right exhibits a fair amount of inconsistency. For example, some dovish conservatives who fear that the war might ignite a nuclear war with Moscow become ultra-hawks when it comes to China. They believe that the U.S. should keep its resources in reserve for a looming conflict with Beijing over Taiwan. These same people criticized President Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan for making America look weak, yet seem unconcerned about the message an American abandonment of Ukraine sends. Other conservatives who accuse Zelensky of illiberalism for banning Russian puppet political parties in Kyiv are pro-Illiberal policies of the government in Budapest.
In some cases, the antiwar conservatives’ opposition to the war in Ukraine can be attributed to their opposition to the Democratic party. This results in incoherence that can be traced back to the George Costanza school of modern conservatism, which reflects the maxim of being against anything a Democrat is for. But there is another, darker side to it. Putin’s cult of machismo, his contempt for democratic and liberal principles, and his opportunistic embrace of religious orthodoxy aligns with the hard right’s glorification of raw power and the unwavering loyalty championed by such figures as Ezra Pound, Charles Lindbergh, and the Mosleys of the 1930s.
Not every conservative subscribes to this stance. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and even conservative firebrands like Mark Levin support Ukraine. However, a large proportion of Republican-leaning voters harbors sympathy for the antiwar conservative stance. While it’s unfair to label the entire American right pro-Putin, this fact is not entirely untrue. Despite this, conservative readers who oppose U.S. support for the war might argue that they shouldn’t be seen as pro-Putin. However, it’s worth recalling George Orwell’s 1942 writing on Western pacifists’ position regarding Nazi Germany: “Pacifism is objectively pro-fascist. If you hamper the war effort of one side, you automatically help that of the other.”
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