Typologizing and mapping liberal belief systems: Liberal attitudes in autocratic and democratic states

The illiberalization of democracies, the emergence of wars, increasing political polarization, and the return of illiberal super-powers are challenging the notion of a Liberal International Order. Are we witnessing a crisis of liberalism? Scientific verdicts on the life expectancy of liberalism are differing – and they are mostly related to conceptual inconsistencies and implemented policies. However, to draw the whole picture, this research is about shifting to an attitudinal perspective. In how far do individuals in different parts of the world support core liberal principles? As liberalism constitutes a multi-faceted concept, does support vary between different aspects of liberalism? To answer these questions, I analyze representative survey data from 50.000 individuals from 26 countries located in all world regions. The aim of this paper is to typologize and map liberal belief systems by identifying patterns of support in the minds of citizens in different political contexts. My research relies on novel survey data with a unique focus on public attitudes towards liberalism which was collected within the framework of SCRIPTS ("Contestations of the Liberal Script"). Participants were asked to answer questions like: To what extent should people be allowed to live freely? Who should have the right to restrict freedom? Should citizens be most decisive for policy-making? How much power should be given to elected politicians, experts, and religious leaders? Should laws be enforced equally? Social contract theorists as well as advocates of a world society argue that a moral compass is guiding humanity, and postulate that core values have been harmonized. This research will test this claim. Whether abstract ideas of freedom, equality and justice erode in concrete situations will be considered as well. For instance, do people tend to "forget" about equality and prefer male citizens over women and migrants when jobs are at scarce? The study enfolds in the following steps. Building on the literature, I define a set of aspects commonly associated with liberalism. Secondly, overlapping attitudes will be analyzed to typologize liberal belief systems. Studying different belief systems gives the opportunity a) to explore the structure of various ways of liberal thinking and therefore b) to understand patterns of internal and external contestations of liberalism. Thirdly, a map of mindsets contributes to discussing the interplay between political order and public attitudes. Partly building on the concept of political culture, I focus on the attitudinal environment different political orders are embedded in. The survey was conducted in liberal democracies, defective democracies, and autocracies. This heterogeneity enables me to compare the mix of liberal belief systems in different political regimes. My research stresses the necessity to take public opinion more into account when debating the crisis of liberalism. I advocate for identifying belief systems since they reveal hidden patterns and are an adequate measure of support for a multi-faceted concept like liberalism. Belief systems illustrate unity alongside disunity making the degree of ideological polarization observable. The structure and occurrence of different belief systems complement the research on the current state of the Liberal International Order.