Liberal Attitudes Research Articles

From Globalization to Isolation: Exposure to the 2008 Financial Crisis and Three Dimensions of Liberal Attitudes in a Swedish Twin Design

Abstract This study investigates the link between non-liberal attitudes and adverse exposure to market disturbances during the 2008 global financial crisis, drawing from the premise that anti-liberal sentiments among Western voters stem from economic distress. We delve into three facets of liberal ideology in a Swedish sample: economic liberalism, liberal multiculturalism and liberal internationalism. Using variation in crisis exposure within identical twin pairs, comprehensive longitudinal economic data and detailed survey responses, we find no significant shift in economic or multicultural liberal attitudes with different crisis exposures. However, exposure to increased unemployment risk significantly lowered support for liberal internationalism, increasing scepticism towards global governance and multilateral cooperation.

Exploring European Parents’ Attitudes Towards the Age Appropriateness of Digital Sexuality Education for Adolescents

We conducted a multinational cross-sectional survey in Europe to explore parental attitudes toward the appropriate age for adolescents to receive sexuality education through an app interface. This was delivered via an online survey across Belgium (n = 479), the United Kingdom (n = 445), and Italy (n = 454). Parents from Belgium consistently accepted their children accessing digital material at the youngest ages, whereas Italian participants selected the oldest age groups. Most parents, however,endorsed a spiral curriculum, whereby topics are introduced sequentially throughout adolescents’ school careers. Thus, whilst on average participants were comfortable with adolescents having access to content on body anatomy younger ages (from 9–12 years to 12–15 years), they approved virtual content on relationships and sex at older school ages (from 12–15 years to 15–18 years). European ethnicity, liberal sociosexual attitudes, lower religiosity, and higher educational attainment were associated with parents approving adolescent exposure to digital sex education at younger ages. To our knowledge, this exploratory study is the first to quantitatively examine parental attitudes toward digital sex education curricula, as well as explore the parental characteristics that relate to these attitudes. This work should inform educators internationally on their future efforts to deploy virtual sexuality learning.

Sexual Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviors of Medical Students: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Exposure to sexually explicit media influences the sexual knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of youth, so studying this among medical students is of utmost importance. Aim: To study sexual knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and sources of influence among medical students. Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional, analytical, web-based study was conducted to assess sexual knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and sources influencing sexuality in medical students via Google Forms. The form consisted of three parts: the first part was an information sheet and consent form, the second part included the participant’s sociodemographic data and the third part related to two study tools, the Sexual Knowledge and Attitude Questionnaire-II (SKAQ-II) and the sexual behavior and sources of influence scale. Result: A total of 300/950 (31.5%) medical students responded to the Google questionnaire. Their mean age was 20.43 ± 1.87 years (range: 18–26 years). The mean score for sexual knowledge and attitude was 24.35 ± 4.93 and 23.79 ± 4.87, respectively, which suggested that they had good sexual knowledge and liberal attitudes toward sexuality with female preponderance. As student’s academic year progresses, their sexual knowledge improves. There was a significant strong positive correlation between sexual attitude and knowledge with a Pearson correlation of r = 0.95, P = 0.004, which means the higher the knowledge, the better the attitude. Medical student’s engagement in sexual behaviors with self- and others was at age 18.45 years. The internet was the major source for getting information related to sexual behaviors for them, but they relied on doctors and friends for guidance. Conclusion: Medical students had adequate sexual knowledge, which was the reason for their liberal attitude toward sexuality. Their major source of sexual knowledge was the internet, although they confided in doctors for sexual doubts.

“They Would Plant the Rose Garden Themselves”

This article theorizes how femme sociality and world-making provide a counterpoint to a politics that aims for neutrality or innocence, arguing that neutrality or innocence are hallmarks of different forms of patriarchy. Instead, the authors offer embracing complicity as a concept that structures practical ethics centered in abolitionism and nondisposability. Complicity is formulated as a mode of self-understanding that guides action, evading the social hierarchies demanded by a claim to innocence, uprooting (neo)liberal attitudes that look to evade friction by doling out punishment and exclusion. The proposal to embrace complicity is followed by a proposal for solidarity based on openness. Rather than being “right” or “solving problems,” a turn to the sensuous provides a form of world-making that can hold difference—without reducing life to the single organizational forms characteristic of liberalism. As a key part of this form of solidarity, the authors show how trans femmeness emphasizes possibilities for social and sensorial transformation. Practices of care and solidarity allow one to entangle with different forms of life. Instead of reforming the structures of oppression, femme practices encourage us to unlearn and uproot institutional forms that reproduce social and material oppressions, and to take agency in (re)constructing and nourishing one's own worlds—to collectively plant the rose garden of struggle for liberation.

Impact of Gender Role Attitudes and Gender Differences on the Evaluation of Female Leaders: Insights from a Survey of Japanese University Students

Women’s active participation in society is desirable. However, it has not increased sufficiently in contemporary Japan, where the ratio of women decision-makers in politics and corporations is low, and gender inequality persists. One reason for this could be people’s negative perception of female leaders. This study focused on female managers as female leaders. It examined whether people’s gender-role attitudes might affect their attitudes about female leaders and whether these attitudes might differ depending on people’s sex (males or females). We administered a collective-style questionnaire survey to university students (N=107, 46 men and 61 women, mean age=20.11, SD=1.04) in Japan. We adopted a three-way between-subjects survey design; gender-role attitudes (traditional or equal) x managers (male condition or female condition) x participants’ sex (male or female). The results indicated that the participants’ gender-role attitudes had a more substantial effect on evaluating female managers than the participants’ gender. People with liberal gender-role attitudes had a highly positive perception of female leaders, whereas those with traditional gender-role attitudes considered female leaders more strictly. The results of this study indicated that gender-role attitudes do not affect the assessment of male leaders, suggesting that individual values might not affect the evaluation of male leaders. In contrast, these variables affected the assessment of female leaders. Therefore, we concluded that gender-role attitudes are essential for promoting the psychological acceptance of women leaders, which suggests the need to develop personnel with egalitarian gender-role attitudes to increase and popularize women managers in Japanese society.

Gambling Habits and Attitudes among Athlete and Non-Athlete High School Students in Skåne Region, Sweden.

Previous literature has reported increased rates of gambling problems in athletes compared to non-athletes. More liberal gambling-related attitudes have been suggested as a reason, although this rarely has been researched. The present study aimed to examine gambling experience, gambling problems, and gambling-related attitudes and parental gambling experience in high school students, comparing student-athletes to students at conventional schools. This is a cross-sectional web survey study in high school students (N = 473, 53% at sports high schools, 57% male) at eleven schools in the Skåne region, Sweden, who answered a web survey addressed gambling experiences, parental gambling and gambling-related attitudes, and included validated screening instruments for gambling problems and psychological distress. A history of any gambling was common and increased with age. Problem gambling was detected in 10% (13% of males and 5% of females, p < .001), and was associated with paternal and maternal gambling but not with psychological distress. Sports high school students were not more likely (9%) than other students (10%) to endorse gambling problems and history of each gambling type. However, paternal (but not maternal) gambling was more commonly reported in athletes, who also had more positive attitudes to gambling's effects on society and gambling availability. In contrast to other studies, this study did not demonstrate higher prevalence of gambling or gambling problems among young athletes than among other students, but liberal attitudes towards gambling, and experience of parental gambling on the father's side, were more common among athletes than among non-athletes. Gambling attitudes in adolescents may need to be targeted in future preventive efforts in young athletes and others.

ПРО ПОЧАТКОВУ ОСВІТУ НАЦІОНАЛЬНИХ МЕНШИН ЗАКАРПАТТЯ: ІСТОРИКО-ПЕДАГОГІЧНИЙ КОНТЕКСТ

The article analyzes the historical and pedagogical retrospective of the primary education of national minorities in Transcarpathia in the XX-th century. The process of formation and development of primary education for the national minorities of Transcarpathia in the XX-th century is substantiated as consequential changes in its organization and content of activities determined by the state-territorial subordination of the region. Purpose: analysis of the peculiarities of education of national minorities in primary schools of Transcarpathia in the historical and pedagogical context of the XX-th century. Methods: content analysis of historical, historical-pedagogical, archival and reference sources on the researched problem; a problem-chronological method for studying the dynamics of the influence of educational processes and ensuring the right of national minorities to education in primary schools in Transcarpathian. Results &amp; Conclusions: It was established that at each historical stage of the state-territorial re-subordination of the Transcarpathian lands, the educational policy regarding the education of children representing national minorities who lived in the territory of Transcarpathia changed. During the Austro-Hungarian period at the beginning of the XX-th century, the education of children representing national minorities (the Ruthenians-Ukrainians, Slovaks, Roma, Romanians) was significantly reduced due to the adoption of Law XXVII (in 1907), which regulated the issue of education in all educational institutions in the state (Hungarian) language. The Czechoslovak period was marked by a liberal attitude towards representatives of the local population due to the provision of education in primary schools in the native language of representatives of national minorities (the Ruthenians-Ukrainians, Hungarians, Romanians, Germans). Moreover, during this period, the first primary school for Roma children was opened in Eastern Europe, but education was conducted in the Slovak language. Later, during the Hungarian return during the events of World War II, the Ruthenians-Ukrainians, Germans, Romanians and Slovaks had the opportunity to study in schools in their native language. The beginning of the Soviet period in Transcarpathia was characterized by mass ethnic cleansing of the Hungarians, Germans, the assignment of the Romanians to Moldovan nationality, etc., which was accompanied by the mass closing of schools for children of national minorities, and later, under the motto of international education, the opening of schools with bilingual education (for Hungarian and Romanian children). The period of independence of Ukraine at the end of the XX-th century opened opportunities for providing primary education for representatives of all national minorities who live compactly on the territory of Transcarpathia. Key words: primary education, national minorities, primary schools for children of the Ruthenians-Ukrainians, Hungarians, Romanians, Slovaks, Germans, Roma, Transcarpathia.

Himnuszperek a két háború közötti Csehszlovákiában Adalék a szlovákiai magyarok és a csehszlovák állam viszonyához

In the period of the First Czechoslovak Republic, Slovakia was an ethnically mixed territory, the scene of the meeting of Czechoslovak, Slovak, and Hungarian nation-building, among other things. From this point of view, the use of different national symbols, including national anthems, was a sensitive and much debated issue. This study attempts to outline the conflicts that the issue of national anthems had provoked between the state and its citizens, based on the archival records of county courts in Slovakia. The main focus of the paper is on the conflicts between the Czechoslovak state and the Hungarian population in Slovakia over the Hungarian national anthem. Based primarily on the county courts of the period and news reports in the contemporary press, the paper describes the court cases over the anthem and their outcomes. In doing so, it shows that the First Czechoslovak Republic, which was considered a liberal democracy, did not have a liberal attitude towards the use of symbols of national minorities at all.

Learning About Sex from Different Sources: Implications for Sexual Attitudes, Sexual Knowledge, and Risky Sexual Behavior Among U.S. College Students.

This exploratory cross-sectional study, guided by primary socialization theory, examined relations between four primary socialization agents of sexual learning (i.e., mothers, fathers, friends/peers, and online media) and sexual attitudes, sexual knowledge, and risky sexual behavior. Latent-variable structural equation models were tested using self-report data obtained from 515 emerging adults who had spent at least 6 months attending in-person college classes. Results showed that learning about sex from mothers was associated with more conservative sexual attitudes and lower risky sexual behavior. Sexual learning from friends/peers was linked to liberal sexual attitudes and greater sexual knowledge. Learning from online media was associated with increased sexual knowledge. To account for a shift in sexual learning patterns from before to after entry to college, we created algebraic difference scores for each source of sexual information. Greater reliance on sexual learning from friends/peers in the past 6 months of college relative to before college was associated with liberal sexual attitudes and greater sexual knowledge. Additional analyses revealed different effects of learning about sex from mothers more during college than before college between those living on campus vs. commuters living at home. The discussion emphasizes the different role that each of the primary socialization agents plays for emerging adults' sexual development, including the protective role of mothers against risky sexual behavior, the impact of friends and peers on sexual attitudes and knowledge, and the shifting dynamics of socialization processes during college.

Smoking behaviors among Middle Eastern college women in the United States

Objective: to examine factors associated with cigarette and hookah smoking among Middle Eastern (ME) Arab college women. Participants: 406 adult women of ME Arabic background, currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a US college. Methods: a cross-sectional design, using an anonymous online survey of demographic characteristics, sociocultural factors, and access to health care factors. Data analysis included regression model to identify predictors of smoking behaviors. Results: Smoking rates were 21% and 19% for cigarette and hookah smoking. Cigarette smoking was higher with having liberal attitudes toward sexuality and lower among those having a healthcare provider. Hookah smoking was higher among students who are Muslim, involved in student organizations, have higher acculturation-heritage levels, and have more liberal attitudes toward women. Hookah smoking was lower among students born in the US, attending college part-time, and having higher religiosity levels. Conclusions: The study findings have several implications for interventions to address smoking behaviors among ME Arab college women through community organizations and within college campuses.

The impact of the new trend of urban‐to‐urban migration on fertility behaviors

AbstractIn China, urban‐to‐urban migration is an emerging migration trend that may have different impacts on fertility behavior. Based on the China General Social Survey, this study provides an in‐depth examination of the impact of urban‐to‐urban migration on fertility behavior. The findings show that urban‐to‐urban migrants tend to adopt more conservative fertility decisions, including lowering the likelihood of having children, delaying the age of first birth, and lengthening birth intervals. Traditional catch‐up and interference hypotheses fail to account for these results, whereas findings from the selectivity hypothesis suggest that urban‐to‐urban migrants anticipate lower numbers of children and maintain more open attitudes towards sexuality, potentially contributing to the conservative fertility behaviors. In addition, the study also reveals that urban‐to‐urban migration appears to promote a more open and liberal attitude towards childbearing, particularly weakening discriminatory attitudes towards women entrenched in feudal notions. This study has not only enriched the theories of migrant fertility behavior but also offered a new perspective on the recent changes in China's fertility rate.

Sportsmanship Behaviors in Early Adolescence and Gender and Family Attitudes

Introduction and Aim: Sportsmanship is a concept defined as the awareness of having the values required by sports and the golden key of sportive activities. In addition to changes in early adolescence, family attitude and gender are thought to be among the concepts affecting sportsmanship. This study aimed to examine sportsmanship behaviors and family attitude and gender characteristics. Materials and Methods: The study group consisted of a total of 300 students with a mean age of 12.48±.79, randomly selected from second-level primary schools in Isparta province. In the research conducted with a survey design, the "Physical Education Course Sportsmanship Behavior Scale (PECSBS)" developed by Koç (15) and the personal information form were used as data collection tools. In the data analysis, frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation were used as descriptive statistical methods for personal information. Since the data were normally distributed, the t-test was used for paired groups, and the ANOVA test was used for multiple comparisons. Findings: According to the findings, the students’ sportsmanship behaviors were at a high level. According to gender, a statistically significant difference was found in favor of female students in the sub-dimensions of displaying appropriate behavior and avoiding inappropriate behavior and in the overall scale. According to the family attitudes of the students, there was no statistically significant difference in the sub-dimension of displaying appropriate behavior. However, in the sub-dimension of avoiding inappropriate behavior and in the overall scale, the scores of the students with democratic family attitudes were found to be higher than the scores of the children of families with liberal attitudes. Conclusion: When the sportsmanship behavior scores of second-level primary school students were examined, it was seen that female students scored higher than male students. It is thought that changing family attitudes will improve the sportsmanship behaviors of society.

Unveiling silenced narratives: a scoping review on sexual function challenges in migrant and refugee women.

Of the approximately 281 million international migrants and 35.3 million refugees around the world, almost half are women. These individuals experience significant stress due to language barriers, financial difficulties, poor living and working conditions, and discrimination. Consequently, concerns related to sexuality may receive lower priority despite their significant impact on overall well-being. This scoping review aims to review the sexual function of migrant and refugee women and identify any knowledge gaps in the field. We conducted a scoping review following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses extension for Scoping Reviews). We searched online databases-Medline, Embase, Emcare, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane-and gray literature, with no restrictions on year of publication, language, or study design. Utilizing Covidence software, 2 authors screened and extracted data from studies based on predetermined eligibility criteria. A thematic analysis was executed, and findings were reported descriptively. Initially, we identified 5615 studies; after screening titles, abstracts, and full texts, we ultimately included 12 studies. The review identified a limited body of research with various unvalidated tools. Moreover, these studies yielded heterogeneous results: migrant women reported less sexual knowledge, experience, and liberal attitudes, resulting in lower rates of desire and arousal as compared with nonmigrants. Some studies showed lower sexual function in migrants, while others found no significant differences between migrants and nonmigrants. The assimilation into Western cultures may influence migrants' sexual attitudes and behaviors. Factors such as education and gender role ideology can also significantly affect sexual function among migrant populations. This review underscores the limitations in previous sexual function research, emphasizing the need for a more inclusive approach. It also offers valuable insights for codesigning programs to address sexual dysfunction among migrant and refugee women, improving their well-being. Future research should prioritize neglected populations and create culturally sensitive interventions to reduce sexual health disparities in migrants.

Predicting Attitudes Towards the Exchange of Sexual Services for Payment: Variance in Gender Gaps Across the Nordic Countries

Abstract Introduction This article explores how individual-level attitudes towards the exchange of sexual services for payment differ between the Nordic countries. The sparse existing research points to gender and general attitudes towards sexual behavior as powerful predictors of attitudes towards the exchange of sex for payment. However, there are no previous research agendas that attempt to explain variance in such attitudes including all the Nordic countries. Methods We estimate regression models utilizing data from the joint Wave 5 European Values Study (EVS)/World Values Survey (WVS) Wave 7 (EVS 2017; WVS, 2020) asking about the acceptability of prostitution to predict attitudes towards the exchange of sexual services for payment in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Results The findings point to considerable variation in attitudes towards the exchange of sex for payment in the Nordic countries. The attitudinal differences align with how the different Nordic governments have approached the issue at hand. Moreover, the results suggest that gender and attitudes towards non-committal casual sex play a critical role in determining attitudes towards the exchange of sex for payment. The impact of attitudes towards non-committal casual sex on attitudes towards the acceptability of exchanging sex for payment is different for women when compared to men in four of the five countries. Conclusions The empirical results provide convincing evidence that women are less likely than men to translate liberal attitudes towards general sexual behavior into lenient attitudes towards the exchange of sex for payment. Policy Implications The results indicate that government policies play a crucial role in shaping public attitudes towards the exchange of sex for payment, and policymakers should consider the potential impact of their stance on the issue. Policymakers and others who want to shift attitudes towards the exchange of sex for payment in the Nordic region should be cognizant of their interconnectedness with gender and attitudes towards non-committal casual sex.

Socialism and the Modernization Hypothesis

In Europe, people from post-Soviet countries tend to hold more negative attitudes toward immigration than people from Western societies. This pattern is also evident in the former East and West Germany. In line with the modernization hypothesis, previous research shows that worldviews have become more liberal across generations in Western societies over the last century. This study examines whether such processes of liberalization have taken place at a different pace in Western societies and in post-Soviet societies. To this end, I assess whether changes in attitudes toward immigration across birth cohorts differ between residents of post-Soviet countries and inhabitants of other types of welfare states. Using data from the European Social Survey, the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, and the German General Social Survey, this study shows that the pattern of later-born cohorts holding more liberal attitudes toward immigration is less pronounced in post-Soviet states than in other types of welfare states. These findings have implications for research on attitude change over time and the long-term persistence of communist practices, behaviors, values, and norms.

Strangulation During Sex Among Undergraduate Students in Australia: Toward Understanding Participation, Harms, and Education

Abstract Background Strangulation is becoming a more common sexual practice despite its potentially fatal consequences and associated short- and long-term sequelae. This research provides a preliminary examination of participation and perception toward strangulation during sex among Australian undergraduates. Methods This study utilized a confidential, cross-sectional online survey collected in 2022–2023. Analysis included 168 undergraduate students at an Australian University and explored their awareness of the harms of strangulation, understanding of criminalization, and the impact of education on these attitudes. Results In total, 56% reported ever being strangled during sex and 51% ever strangling a partner. Seventeen percent of participants reported being strangled and 13% strangling a partner during their last sexual experience. Higher frequency, wanting, and positive perceptions of strangulation were associated with more liberal sexual attitudes. However, there were differences depending on gender. Participants generally did not perceive strangulation to be harmful and had limited knowledge about its criminalization. Lastly, a brief education intervention on strangulation harms revealed reductions in positive perceptions of strangulation that were pronounced among women. Conclusions In this convenience survey, Australian university students commonly reported previously engaging in strangulation during sex but with limited awareness of the potential consequences. Our results indicate that education on these consequences could reduce positive perceptions of strangulation, particularly among women. Policy Implications Education on strangulation harms are likely more effective than criminalization alone in improving awareness of its consequences and changing perceptions of strangulation. These findings could help guide targeted policy and education on strangulation within sexual health contexts.

Should we all be feminists? Development of the Liberal Feminist Attitudes Scale

IntroductionThe current social zeitgeist is characterized different feminist tendencies, some of which are embedded in a neoliberal logic. Although the impact of modern mainstream feminism on the individual and society is a subject of critical scholarly debate, there is a lack of suitable instruments to measure the complexity of modern feminist attitudes.MethodsIn three studies, we developed a scale assessing liberal feminist attitudes and tested its factor structure and validity. In Study 1, we generated an item pool capturing liberal feminist attitudes and presented it to a sample of N = 473 with scales for Ambivalent Sexism (hostile and benevolent), Social Dominance Orientation, System Justification, Neoliberal Beliefs, and the self-labeling as a feminist. In Studies 2 (N = 310) and 3 (N = 214) we aimed at replicating the factor structure of the LFAS from Study 1 and confirmed the construct and criterion validity with measurements of the constructs Self-Identification as a Feminist, Personal Progress, Conformity to Feminine Norms and a concrete behavioral measure that captured the willingness to receive information about feminism in the future.ResultsExploratory factor analysis (Study 1) yielded a 4-factor structure with 17 items-the Liberal Feminist Attitudes Scale (LFAS). In Studies 2 and 3, this 4-factorial model showed excellent model fit, internal consistency and convergent as well as discriminant and criterion validity, at least within a particular demographic (i.e., German students).DiscussionThe LFAS holds the potential to provide psychologists with a tool to examine and analyse liberal feminist attitudes comprehensively.

Sexual Knowledge, Attitude, Behaviours and Sources of Influences in Undergraduate Medical Students in a Peripheral Medical College: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: The word ‘sex’ in India is taboo and is not discussed openly. Sex attitude refers to one’s attitude towards sexuality or different sexual behaviours. Poor sex knowledge causes many problems. A liberal attitude without adequate knowledge is harmful. Aim: To explore and study sexual knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and the sources of influence and to examine the relationship between sexual knowledge, attitude and behaviours in undergraduate medical students. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess sex knowledge and attitude among 506 medical undergraduate students. A Google document in the form of a structured questionnaire containing three important parts was used for the assessment: (a) demographic details of students; (b) sex knowledge and attitude questionnaire II (SKAQ II); and (c) Sexual Behaviour and Sources of Influence (SBSI) scale. Data was interpreted using mean, unpaired ‘t’ test and chi-square test. Results: Overall, participants showed a conservative attitude towards sex. As the academic year of participants progressed, sex knowledge increased. A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between sex knowledge and attitude scores. Sexual behaviours through media and with self or others were found to be low. The Internet was found to be the major source for gathering information and was considered the most reliable source. Conclusion: Participants were deficient in sex knowledge and had a conservative attitude in certain areas. Females, higher education levels and urban area participants had higher sex knowledge and liberal attitudes. There are areas of sex knowledge and attitude that need improvement by proper sex education.

Liberals Among Us: Socio-Demographic Determinants of Liberal Attitudes in Poland

The authors of this article attempt to describe in detail the determinants and structure of the beliefs and views of Polish society on a liberal to anti-liberal values continuum. The first research objective was to determine the extent of social and economic freedom that respondents expect in their relations with others and in their relations with state institutions. In addition, the authors wanted to identify the socio-demographic characteristics that significantly differentiate these liberal orientations, as well as the factors that independently determine the adoption of liberal views. The detailed hypotheses were verified based on an analysis of data collected in a nationwide telephone survey (CATI) conducted on a representative sample of 1,000 adult Polish citizens. The survey used an original questionnaire consisting of 31 quantitative scales, which were used to construct the Liberalism/Libertarianism Index (LLI) and to categorize respondents into “Polish Liberals” and “Polish Libertarians.” Higher index values indicate stronger and more consistent liberal attitudes in economic as well as axiological (social) terms. More liberal orientations were found to be held by respondents declaring higher incomes, younger, better educated, and less religious, although only age, some party preferences, and religious practices act as independent predictors of LLI.

Die Parlamentswahlen in Polen 2023 – innenpolitische Beobachtungen und außenpolitische Implikationen

This text is an attempt to read the election results in Poland on 15 October 2023 as a symptom of deeper changes in society. The author defends the thesis that democratic and liberal attitudes, supressed but still present in society, have been unblocked. The expectations of extremely mobilized voters will be a challenge for the new government. Then, the elections were analysed against the background of trends in European politics. In Poland, it turned out that you can also win unfair elections. It is also possible to oppose the general wave of populism. Finally, the author presents the possible effects of the political change in Poland on the situation in the European Union and on Polish-German relations. Polish politics is faced with the task of demonstrating “European indispensability” in the Union, which is turning from a factory of rules into a community of fate.