ANTI-GENDER CIVILIZATIONISM AND THE WEST-EAST DIVIDE: THE CASE OF THE WORLD CONGRESS OF FAMILIES^*

This article examines how transnational anti-gender movements deploy concepts of gender, sexuality, and civilization to shape geopolitical narratives and power relations. Drawing on nonparticipant observations from recent World Congress of Families (WCF) conferences in Budapest and Verona, the study combines inductive thematic analysis with qualitative discourse analysis to investigate these dynamics. The findings reveal how the movement's focus on themes of”demographic crisis” and “natural family” creates an international platform for reimagining “European civilization” in ways that transcend traditional post-Cold War East-West divisions. Most significantly, this discourse places Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries as leaders in “pro-family” politics, effectively repositioning them from the periphery to the center of European civilizational narratives.