The right in the world and here at home, and where we meet it

In this Prishtina Talks presentation, Fitim Zekthi develops a systematic treatment of the political “right” in the world and in the Albanian context, arguing that conservatism as a political doctrine is the most suitable choice for Muslims under today's conditions. He begins by drawing the fundamental distinction between the ideologies that dominate the modern public sphere — liberalism (which in his view is anti-religious at its core), leftism, and conservatism — and explains why the last of them offers a frame in which a believer can live without anti-religious doctrinal pressure.

Zekthi sets out the historical and philosophical foundations of conservatism, from Thomas Hobbes to the reaction against the French Revolution and Jacobinism, and formulates the central principle: the “small state”, which does not claim to teach people how to live, what to believe, or how to sleep. Unlike the totalitarian state that grew as the “big state” after the modern revolutions, conservatives propose a state limited to basic functions, one that leaves room for civil society, the family, religious communities and the natural institutions of human life. That, he argues, is exactly the meeting point with Muslims: defending the space for religious life against the moralising, doctrinal claims of a liberal-progressive state.

In the second half, Zekthi takes up what this means concretely for Kosovo and Albania: the absence of a real right that is coherent ideologically, the confusion between the words and the political reality, and the risks of a situation in which the Albanian “right” is often only a label with nothing behind it. The lecture closes with the practical question of how to build a right-wing political voice with integrity, one that carries both the moral and religious concerns of Muslims and the concern for the rule of law and strong institutions.

Some of the points covered: 📌 The three dominant ideologies: liberalism, leftism, conservatism 📌 Why liberalism is anti-religious at its core 📌 The foundations of conservatism: from Hobbes to the reaction against Jacobinism 📌 The “small state” as the central principle of conservatism 📌 Conservatism as the defender of the space for religious life 📌 Where Muslims and political conservatism meet 📌 A critique of the Albanian “right” as a label with nothing behind it 📌 The challenge of building a political ideology with integrity

📍 Prishtina Talks