Evolution of American social conservatism in the 1990s: from trasformation to the rise

The evolution of American social conservatism as a system of ideas and a social movement is under investigation in the article. The transformation of ideological positions, organizational structure, and political activities of social conservatives in the late 20 th century is analyzed in the context of the US changing social and political conditions. The dynamics of relationships between social conservatives and the Republican Party that has developed from the attempts of removing social issues from the party agenda to the awareness of social conservatives' importance in the party coalition is investigated. The main consequences of the transformation of social conservatism in the 1990s, such as adaptation, deep integration of its ideas into the Republican Party platform, and the rise of the social conservative movement in early the 2000s when President G. W. Bush undertook conservative reforms, are presented in the paper.