Postliberals Seek Foreign Strongmen

A strand of American postliberal thought, frustrated with democratic and religious institutions at home, is turning abroad to ally with illiberal leaders willing to enact top‑down, faith‑infused governance. That search for external patrons maps intellectual currents (Integralism, Schmittian legal theory) onto concrete political acts like JD Vance campaigning for Viktor Orbán in Hungary. — If true, this signals a transnational strategy by an ideological movement to circumvent domestic unpopularity by cultivating foreign authoritarian allies, with implications for U.S. foreign policy, democratic norms, and party politics.