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Reactionary

In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the status quo ante—the previous political state of society—which the person believes possessed positive characteristics that are absent from contemporary society. As a descriptor term, reactionary derives from the ideological context of the left–right political spectrum. As an adjective, the word reactionary describes points of view and policies meant to restore a status quo ante.[1]

See also: Revanchism and Irredentism

As an ideology, reactionism is a tradition in right-wing politics;[1] the reactionary stance opposes policies for the social transformation of society, whereas conservatives seek to preserve the socio-economic structure and order that exists in the present.[2] In popular usage, reactionary refers to a strong traditionalist conservative political perspective of a person opposed to social, political, and economic change.[3][4]


Reactionary ideologies can be radical in the sense of political extremism in service to re-establishing past conditions. To some writers, the term reactionary carries negative connotations—Peter King observed that it is "an unsought-for label, used as a torment rather than a badge of honor."[5] Despite this, the descriptor "political reactionary" has been adopted by writers such as the Austrian monarchist Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn,[6] the Scottish journalist Gerald Warner of Craigenmaddie,[7] the Colombian political theologian Nicolás Gómez Dávila, and the American historian John Lukacs.[8]

Anti-modernization

Backlash (sociology)

Fundamentalism

Loyalism

Radical politics

Restoration (disambiguation)

Romanticism

Royalism

Alexander III of Russia

Liberty or Equality, , Christendom Press, Front Royal, Virginia, 1993.

Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn

Liberalism and the Challenge of Fascism, Social Forces in England and France 1815-1870, , McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., NY, 1949. (with over 34 mentions of the word "reactionary" in political context)

J. Salwyn Schapiro

The Reactionary Revolution, The Catholic Revival in French Literature, 1870/1914, Richard Griffiths, Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., NY, 1965.

, 20 Vol. 31 references on the use of the term.

Oxford English Dictionary

Kit-ching, Chan Lau (1978). . Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 962-209-010-9.

Anglo-Chinese Diplomacy 1906-1920: In the Careers of Sir John Jordan and Yüan Shih-kai

Media related to Reactionary at Wikimedia Commons