The birth of neoconservatism in the United States on the pages of “National Review” in the second half of the 1950s.

The topic of American neoconservatism remains relevant to this day due to its continuing influence on US politics. One of the most important issues is the problem of the origin of this ideological and political current. It is usually associated with the emergence of the Commentary and Public Interest magazines in the 1960s. Nevertheless, traces of neoconservatism are clearly visible at earlier stages, in particular, they can be traced on the pages of the “National Review” magazine, created in 1955. In this article we set the goal to determine the place of “National Review” at the initial stage of the history of American neoconservatism and to answer the question, what neoconservative principles were defended on its pages even before the appearance of the well-known publications of N. Podhoretz and I. Kristol. The chronological framework chosen is the second half of the 1950s - from the founding of the journal to the beginning of the intensive journalistic activity of the neoconservatives N. Podhoretz and I. Kristol and the emergence of “Commentary” and “Public Interest” in the vanguard of the neoconservative movement. It seemed important to place the historical-genetic and historical-comparative methods at the core of the study. The method of content analysis is also of great assistance. It helps to trace the intensity of the manifestation of the most fundamental topics for the journal and, as a consequence, to identify the principles defended by the editorial board. Summarizing the results of the study, it can be noted that the “National Review” played a significant role in the development of neoconservatism in the United States. This potentially allows us to clarify the chronological framework of its origin and extend the lower boundary to the second half of the 1950s. Characterizing the role of the “National Review” for neoconservatism, it should be noted that the main merit of the journal was the systematization and unification of diverse conservative currents under one roof, which would later be adopted by neoconservative ideologists. “National Review” has similarities with ”Commentary“ and ’”Public Interest” in a number of criteria: first, in the staff of editors and writers who were former supporters of communist ideology, and second, in the principles advocated - limited government, traditionalism, free market economy. Moreover, it was ”National Review” that first emphasized a strong foreign policy strategy.

american conservatism, origins of neoconservatism, National Review, W. Buckley, J. Burnham, R. Kirk, free market economy, limited government, anti-communism, welfare state