Rod Dreher

Conservative writer and author; formerly at The American Conservative; author of The Benedict Option (2017); Orthodox Christian convert; known for “NETTR” (No Enemies to the Right) debates; relocated to Hungary 2022

Dreher coined the “Benedict Option” — a strategy of intentional Christian community withdrawal from mainstream culture, drawing on the Rule of Saint Benedict. Patrick Deneen’s early prescriptive work (before Regime Change) gestured in a similar direction, though Deneen later moved decisively away from withdrawal toward political activism.

Dreher’s relocation to Hungary in 2022 tracked his increasing admiration for Viktor Orbán’s illiberal Christian democratic model, though he later expressed disillusionment.

He figures in the IM-1776 orbit via a controversy over NETTR — “No Enemies to the Right” — a Hard Right policy of abandoning the cordon sanitaire against white nationalists. Dreher found NETTR “unhinged and morally corrupt,” placing him at odds with the hardest edges of the right-wing media ecosystem.

Cross-References

• Postliberalism — adjacent to his “Benedict Option” withdrawal strategy
• Patrick Deneen — parallel withdrawal prescriptions before Deneen pivoted to activism
• Viktor Orbán — Dreher’s admiration for Hungarian illiberal democracy
• IM-1776 — orbit of his NETTR debate
• Hard Right — his resistance to NETTR marks the line between his conservatism and the Hard Right