Europe’s quest for sustainability: An opportunity for centre–right parties?

Abstract

The reasons for the decline of European centre–right parties since the 1990s are widely debated and subject to different explanations. One such explanation is that there has been a lack of an overarching narrative. In recent years, sustainability has become a dominant concept in European political debates. The article analyses whether this concept could become the core of a new political vision for centre–right parties and should no longer be considered only a leftist–green project. Three significant aspects of sustainability are discussed: future value creation, foreign relations and the future of democracy. In all three fields, there is a huge potential to redefine sustainability beyond the narrow environmentalist understanding, linking this approach to a long history of conservative, Christian Democratic thinking. For Europe as a global actor, sustainability could become a key component of its normative power, with many opportunities to link up with similar initiatives in other world regions.