CFP: Education under the “New Right” of the 21st Century
Education under the “New Right” of the 21st Century: Policies, Discourses, and Struggles for Social Justice
Guest Editors:
Manuela Mendoza (Universidad de O’Higgins)
Analía Inés Meo (CONICET - Universidad de Buenos Aires)
Aina Tarabini (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona)
Marie Verhoeven (Universidad de Lovaina)
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This special issue addresses an urgent and globally significant question: how the rise of the “New Right” is reshaping the educational field and contesting its relationship with social justice. Over the past decades, we have witnessed the consolidation of a new political and discursive repertoire which, far from being a mere return to traditional conservatism, combines neoliberal rationalities, identitarian neoconservatisms, authoritarian populisms, technocratic projects, and new rhetorical and expressive forms that are challenging the limits of what is publicly “sayable” (Apple, 2001; Gandin & Lima, 2016; Gomes de Lima & Hypolito, 2019; Rojas, 2024; Sanahuja & López Burian, 2023). What is “new” about these right-wing movements lies in their ability to articulate and reconfigure these heterogeneous registers—economic, moral, and cultural—within a single political horizon: the restoration of order and the redefinition of the public meaning of education. Furthermore, they are able to articulate criticism of the State, social unrest among different groups, promises of freedom, and the need for order, which have been reconfigured in post-pandemic scenarios (Semán, 2023).
Unlike the classical right of the 20th century, contemporary new right movements deploy strategies of “conservative modernization” (Apple, 2012, 2013, 2018) that combine market advocacy with an emphasis on national identity, family, and religion as moral ideals. This is not merely about privatizing or deregulating but about moralizing and homogenizing educational systems under the expectation of restoring a cultural and value-based community perceived as under threat. As recent studies show (see, for instance, Giudici et al., 2025), this convergence between neoliberal principles in the economic domain and traditional ones in the moral sphere is driving educational policies and discourses that operate across multiple levels —from curriculum and teacher training to educational governance and the moral regulation of schools. We are thus witnessing how the combination of these rationalities (neoliberal and traditional) promotes, for example, school choice and meritocracy—often resorting to discourses of inclusion and the right to education—while simultaneously advancing a supposed ideological neutrality and campaigns against “gender ideology” and comprehensive sex education (and especially against feminism), legitimizing forms of cultural control (Ball, 2017; Biesta, 2011; Brown, 2019; Littler, 2018; Reay, 2017; Rosenkranz & Lavizzari, 2025; Tomazini, 2025; Venegas, 2025). All of this threatens, both overtly and subtly, the role the education system might play in strengthening democracy and social justice.
In this context, the special issue invites examination of the genealogies, effects, and resistances associated with these new configurations at the intersection of educational policies, school practices, and projects of social justice. Contributions from authors with diverse contexts and trajectories are welcome, including theoretical, historical, and empirical studies that analyze how the new right mobilizes discourses and policies to contest education as a field of moral and political production. Literature reviews are out of the scope of this special issue. The issue also encourages dialogue among critical perspectives that explore forms of resistance, counter-narratives, and pedagogical practices aimed at reimagining education as a space for democracy and social justice. This is an open call for contributions from any region, with a strong comparative orientation. Within this framework, the issue is particularly relevant to the Latin American section of the journal, given that Latin America is a key context for analyzing the emergence of new right-wing movements in education, as well as struggles around social justice and the right to education in times of deepening educational and social inequalities.
When evaluating submissions, priority will be given to contributions that clearly define their research problem, are explicitly grounded in critical theoretical frameworks (e.g., critical sociology of education, sociology of educational policies, studies on the new right, discourse analysis, feminist, intersectional, or decolonial approaches), and display a consistent articulation between theory, context, and empirical or historical evidence, as appropriate. Particular value will be placed on analytical capacity to situate the discourses and policies of the new right in specific educational contexts, as well as reflection on their implications for democracy, social justice, and the right to education—including, where relevant, analysis of forms of resistance, counter-narratives, and alternative pedagogical practices.
Submission InformationInterested contributors are invited to submit an anonymized 1,000-word structured abstract that contains the following components: introduction, purpose, methods, preliminary findings, and implications.
Abstracts should be submitted electronically through the EPAA/AAPE website, in the section Education under the “New Right” of the 21st Century, following the Journal’s submission guidelines.
Abstracts will be accepted in Spanish, Portuguese, or English, and all articles will be evaluated through a double-blind process. More information about the EPAA/AAPE guidelines can be found at https://epaa.asu.edu/index.php/epaa/about/submissions
TimelineAbstract submission deadline: March 06, 2026
Editorial decisions on abstracts and invitation for full manuscripts: April 03, 2026 Reception of full manuscripts: July 30, 2026
Reception of revised manuscripts: February 15, 2027 Final decisions: April 15, 2027
Anticipated publication: May 2027
If you have any questions about this call for papers, please contact Manuela Mendoza (manuela.mendoza@uoh.cl), Analía Inés Meo (analiameo@conicet.gov.ar) and Aina Tarabini (aina.tarabini@uab.cat)
References
Apple, M. W. (2012). Can education change society? Routledge.
Apple, M. W. (2013). Educating the right way: Markets, standards, God, and inequality. Routledge.
Apple, M. W. (2018). Struggle for democracy in education: Lessons from social realities. Routledge.
Ball, S. J. (2017). The education debate (3rd ed.). Policy Press.
Biesta, G. (2011). Good education in an age of measurement. Paradigm.
Brown, W. (2019). In the ruins of neoliberalism: The rise of antidemocratic politics in the West. Columbia University Press.
Gandin, L. A., & Lima, I. G. de. (2016). A perspectiva de Michael Apple para os estudos das políticas educacionais. Educação e Pesquisa, 42, 651-664. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-9702201609143447
Giudici, A. Gruber, O., Schnell, P. & Pultar, A. (2025) Far-right parties and the politics of education in Europe. Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 33(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2024.2352518
Gomes de Lima, I. G. D., & Hypolito, Á. M. (2019). A expansão do neoconservadorismo na educação brasileira. Educação e Pesquisa, 45, e190901. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1678-463420194519091
Littler, J. (2018). Against meritocracy: Culture, power and myths of mobility. Routledge.
Reay, D. (2017). Miseducation: Inequality, education and the working classes. Policy Press.
Rojas, M. T. (2024). Neoconservadurismos en la educación chilena: emergencia de los actores antigénero en el debate público. Educação & Sociedade, 45, e274884. https://doi.org/10.1590/ES.274884
Rosenkranz, G. B., & Lavizzari, A. (2025). Education as a field of contention: Feminist and anti-gender struggles over democracy. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxaf058
Sanahuja, J. A., & Stefanoni, P. (Eds.) (2023). Extremas derechas y democracia: Perspectivas iberoamericanas. Fundación Carolina.
Semán, P. (Ed.) (2023). Está entre nosotros ¿De dónde sale y hasta dónde puede llegar la extrema derecha que no vimos venir? Siglo XXI Editores.
Tomazini, C. (2025). Attacking gender education in Latin America: an ambiguous consensus? Globalizations, 22(6), 1009–1026. https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2025.2479332
Venegas, M. (2025). Movilizaciones antigénero, "ideología de género" y asalto a la democracia: La batalla por la educación para la igualdad sexual y de género en la Europa del Sur. Revista de Sociología de la Educación-RASE, 18(1), 47–67. https://doi.org/10.7203/RASE.18.1.28624
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