Background
Democratic decision-making is increasingly shaped by transnational actors, from think tanks to lobbying networks, that operate beyond national borders. In Europe and Finland, right-wing populist, libertarian, and conservative groups have strategically framed issues such as climate change, gender equality, and public health as threats to “national sovereignty.” These narratives are not isolated—they are part of a well-coordinated transatlantic movement influencing policy debates, undermining democratic governance, and shifting political priorities.
TransFlows takes a novel approach by examining the networks, institutions, and strategies behind this influence. By mapping these connections and analyzing their tactics, we shed light on how right-wing and libertarian agendas are shaping EU and Finnish policymaking.
Goal
TransFlows seeks to answer three critical questions:
– Who are the key foreign actors influencing EU-level policies, and what are their transatlantic links?
– What policy areas are targeted, and how do these efforts weaken democratic governance?
– How do today’s conservative and libertarian movements connect to historical opposition to social progress?
Through policy analysis, process tracing, and historical research, our interdisciplinary team—spanning political science, gender studies, health sciences, and critical theory—aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the ideological and financial networks driving these policy shifts.
Impact
By exposing these transnational influences, TransFlows contributes to:
– Stronger democratic resilience by identifying threats to evidence-based policymaking.
– Informed public debate by revealing the strategies behind policy shifts.
– Better policymaking by equipping decision-makers with insights into the actors shaping legislative agendas.
– Advancing academic research by offering an interdisciplinary model for studying transnational conservative networks and their impact on governance.
– Bridging disciplines by integrating political science, gender studies, health sciences, and historical analysis to deepen understanding of right-wing mobilization.
– Fostering new scholarship by generating empirical data, conceptual insights, and methodological approaches that will benefit researchers across multiple fields.
At a time when misinformation and political polarization threaten democratic governance, TransFlows provides a critical resource for researchers, policymakers, and civil society actors seeking to safeguard human rights, public health, and environmental protections in Europe and beyond.
Funding
This project is generously funded by the Kone Foundation