National conservatism is a variant of conservatism that concentrates more on national interests and upholding cultural and ethnic identity than most other conservatives. In Europe, national conservatives are usually eurosceptics. National conservatism is also related to traditionalist conservatism.
Most conservative parties in postcommunist Central and Southeastern Europe since 1989 have been national conservative.
National conservative parties are "socially traditional" and support the traditional family and social stability. According to the Austrian political scientist Sieglinde Rosenberger, "national conservatism praises the family as a home and a centre of identity, solidarity and emotion." Many national conservatives are thus social conservatives, as well as in favour of limiting immigration and enacting law-and-order policies.
National conservative parties in different countries do not necessarily share a common position on economic policy: their views may range from support of a planned economy to a centrist mixed economy to a laissez-faire approach. In the first, more common, case, national conservatives can be distinguished from fiscal conservatives, for whom free market economic policies, deregulation and tight spending are the main priorities. Some commentators have indeed identified a growing gap between national and economic conservatism: "most parties of the Right [today] are run by economic conservatives who, in varying degrees, have marginalized social, cultural, and national conservatives."
The following political parties have been characterised as national conservative, at least as one of their ideological influences.
Mandal, U.C. (2007). Dictionary Of Public Administration. Sarup & Sons. ISBN .