Since its founding in the 1970s, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) has been a chance to take the temperature of Republican politics. In recent years, that’s looked increasingly fevered, with the Donald Trump wing of the party taking center stage. This year, for instance, a far-right figure named Jack Posobiec called for “the end of democracy” during a panel led by former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon. But it’s also taking a surprisingly internationalist turn for a group whose theme this year was “Where Globalism Goes to Die.”

Since its founding in the 1970s, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) has been a chance to take the temperature of Republican politics. In recent years, that’s looked increasingly fevered, with the Donald Trump wing of the party taking center stage. This year, for instance, a far-right figure named Jack Posobiec called for “the end of democracy” during a panel led by former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon. But it’s also taking a surprisingly internationalist turn for a group whose theme this year was “Where Globalism Goes to Die.”

A Hungarian branch of the conference was founded in 2020, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban, perhaps inevitably, always seems to be the keynote speaker. In 2023, CPAC Brasil launched as well. Between 2017 and 2019, CPAC events also launched in Australia, Mexico, Japan, and South Korea. This year’s Hungarian CPAC, to be held in April, is expected to focus heavily on elections both in the United States and across Europe.

But the American event itself is the main chance for authoritarians and nationalists everywhere to shine. Drawing thousands of attendees each year, from lobbyists to party functionaries to conservative media stars, nearly every Republican presidential candidate was once expected to make a stop at CPAC, although Trump’s ascendancy has cooled some of them on the prospect. A straw poll taken at the event is used as a barometer to try to judge who the conservative base is likely to vote for in the Republican presidential primaries (a foregone conclusion this year) and for the vice presidency (a tie this year between South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.)

The conference has become an obligatory stop for international political figures, either looking to make inroads with the American right—and prepare for the benefits of closeness to a future Trump administration—or to float a new career built on American money after they crash and........

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