The Contested Classroom: New Right Movements and the Struggle for Democratic Education

This panel examines how the rise of the so- called New Right is reshaping education and contesting its historical role in sustaining democracy and social justice - a pressing concern in today's turbulent times of democratic erosion, rising authoritarianism, and deepening inequalities. Across diverse national contexts, contemporary right-wing movements strategically combine neoliberal market logics, neoconservative identity politics, authoritarian populism, and technocratic governance. What is "new" in these social, cultural and political assemblages is their capacity to intertwine economic, moral, and cultural registers in projects aimed at redefining the public meaning of education (Apple, 2001; Gandin & Lima, 2016) and their ability to intervene in different policy arenas. Education becomes a key glocal battleground where meritocracy, "freedom of choice," and inclusion are mobilised alongside anti-gender discourses and cultural control, operating across curriculum, teacher training, school governance, and regulatory frameworks, which erode democratic spaces and constrain critical pedagogies (Giudici et al., 2025). The panel welcomes theoretical, historical, and empirical contributions from diverse national contexts and different epistemological perspectives that contribute to mapping contemporary New Right actors, their political struggles over the meaning of schooling and education (in any of the contexts of the policy cycle), as well as their historical roots. Furthermore, it encourages empirical analysis of forms of resistance, counter-narratives, and pedagogic practices aimed at reimagining education as a space for social justice and democracy.