Ronald Inglehart Research Articles

Between obligations and leisure: an examination of non-work activities among the generation 55+ in Poland and Czechia

This article seeks to evaluate the non-work activities of the generation 55+ in Poland and the Czech Republic. The theoretical framework relies on Ronald Inglehart's theory of values, which is also applied in the research methodology. Following Inglehart's theory, the activities of the generation 55+ can be categorised into two groups. The first group aligns with materialist duty-related values, encompassing responsibilities such as caring for grandchildren, tending to elderly and disabled family members, and participating in religious observances. The second group aligns with postmaterialist values, emphasising personal development, self-expression, and quality of life. These activities encompass participation in classes offered by the University of the Third Age, volunteering, engaging in sports, and tourism. The research findings indicate a greater involvement of Poles in duty-related activities, particularly among women. This suggests a prevalence of materialist values in Poland. Conversely, Czechs, especially Czech women, exhibit more active involvement in leisure activities, pointing to the predominance of postmaterialist values. The conclusions present an integrated model of non-work activities for the generation 55+ that takes into account both materialist and post-materialist values.

On the political values and preferences of the student youth in Kazakhstan

According to Ronald Inglehart’s theory of modernization, values change following economic development. There are discussions about the transformation of the political values of the population in the Kazakh scientific community. A number of studies claim that values in Kazakhstan are moving from traditional to secular – rational. Both traditionalist and modernist values are intertwined in the mass consciousness. At the same time, it is difficult to talk about the dominance of certain political values, beliefs and attitudes. Based on the conducted sociological survey (N = 616) and a focus group discussion, the political values of Kazakhstani youth are analyzed. The role of politics in the value orientation of modern student youth is determined, the level of political activity is analyzed. The main reasons for the exclusion of young people from political participation have been established. The tendency of non-institutional political activity is revealed, confirming the theory of changing forms of political participation of modern youth.

Perspective(s) of R. Inglehart’s Theory of Evolutionary Modernization: Analysis of Change in Religiosity in Ukraine during the War

The study analyzes two waves of panel data collected before and during Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine. The first wave of the survey was conducted in February 2022 using the European Social Survey questionnaire F2F, and the second wave was conducted using a shortened 47-question questionnaire by telephone in the autumn of the same year. The main focus of the article is on Ronald Inglehart’s theory of evolutionary modernization, which links the changing importance of religion in society to changes in the level of security of the environment. This theory is applied to the study of changes in religiosity in Ukraine during the war. The data analysis showed that the experience of war contributed to a significant increase in self-assessment of religiosity among the panelists (N = 595). The data analysis did not confirm the existence of a linear relationship between the increase in religiosity and the degree of proximity of the respondents’ region of residence (ordinal variable) to the combat zone. When analysing the relationship between place of residence and changes in religiosity by macro-region, no significant differences were found among the panelists from the Eastern macro-region. At the same time, the study found a statistically significant relationship between the growth of religiosity and indicators of in-group solidarity. It was found that the change in the importance of the democratic system is positively correlated with the change in religiosity and is not related to the change in authoritarian values.

Europeans Seek Exciting Experiences More Than Status: Exploring the Development of Two Fundamental Life Orientations

This article relates the lively debate about inequality-induced status concerns in affluent societies to the broader theoretical perspective on changing existential dispositions in modern society, which we reconstruct from the sociological theories of David Riesman, Gerhard Schulze and Ronald Inglehart. We conceptualise experience seeking – aspiring to an enjoyable life – alongside status seeking – aspiring to a successful life – as a presumably increasing life orientation. Using extensive data from the European Social Survey, for 27 countries and over 350,000 respondents over the period 2002–2018, we examine the extent and relationship of these orientations over time, their associations with socio-economic development and income inequality, as well as their social stratification according to individual-level characteristics. The results show that the populations of wealthy and economically more equal societies increasingly prefer an exciting life to a successful one. Within societies, men, younger people and the highly educated value both experiences and status.

Әлеуметтік ғылымдардағы «бақыт» концептісін талдау

In the scientific article, the author reviewed psychological theories by conducting a historical analysis of the phenomenon of "happiness". It is established that the phenomenon of "happiness" in psychological science is constantly discussed in the conclusions of scientists on hedonism and eudenomism by two main scientific approaches. In addition, many factors that currently affect happiness were put forward by the American sociologist and political scientist Ronald Inglehart, basing his global values on the conclusions of research work. The research methods used were desk research, a review of scientific papers, theoretical and methodological analysis, secondary data analysis. The main information of the article consists of various theories and scientific approaches and modern research works related to the phenomenon of "happiness" in psychological science. The conclusion of the article states that the concepts of "happiness" and "well-being" are concepts that still complement each other in psychological science. We came to the conclusion that people evaluate happiness objectively and subjectively, hedonistically and eudemonistically.

How does perceptions of social justice affect farmers' political participation?-Evidence from China.

Ronald Inglehart's postmaterialist theory suggests that with the advancement of industrialization and economic prosperity, there will be a significant transformation in people's societal values. Concurrently, their forms of political participation shift from conventional activities to unconventional politic activities. However, most research on this topic has been predominantly focused on Western countries. In fact, rural farmers in China serve as an excellent experimental group for testing this theory since they have experienced rapid economic growth while still being deeply influenced by traditional authoritarianism culture.Using a sample of 6,689 respondents from the 2019 Chinese Social Survey (CSS) and employing a Binary Logistic Regression Model, we discovered that Chinese farmers' perception of overall societal justice exhibits a U-shaped relationship with various forms of political participation. Specifically, it shows a significant negative correlation with non-institutional political participation, such as contact-officer participation, but a significant positive correlation with institutional political participation types like community participation and election participation.Our further research indicates that the three subtypes of perception of societal justice are significantly negatively correlated only with non-institutional political participation, while their statistical relationship with institutional political participation is not significant. We believe that the underlying reason for this phenomenon lies in the unique interpretation of societal justice within Chinese traditional culture. Additionally, through a comparative analysis of models on political participation behavior and willingness, we found that despite significant inequalities and disparities in institutional structures and levels of economic development between rural and urban areas in China, rational considerations of the risks and costs associated with defying the government deter Chinese farmers from engaging in non-institutional politic activities unless their emotional resentment towards unjust practices reaches a certain threshold.

ESPOUSING ABORTION RIGHTS: A CASE STUDY ON THE SATANIC TEMPLE

This study examines how a nontheistic organization called The Satanic Temple (TST) fights for religious freedom for its members, particularly in abortion rights in the US. Ronald Inglehart’s secularization framework is employed to conduct a more in-depth analysis of this group’s efforts to voice religious freedom for its members, particularly on the abortion issue. Therefore, this study also provides an in-depth examination of TST’s strategies regarding the abortion issue. The finding shows that TST has far-reaching implications not only for their efforts against the new abortion law but also for the group’s presence amidst the religious majority environment of the US. Furthermore, another finding also reveals that TST’s efforts in legal proceedings have yet to be treated fairly. TST has a strong legal argument because TST members interpret their fundamental tenets and have an abortion ritual. However, solid legal opinions are not always sufficient. In response to legal challenges, judges have shown reluctance to evaluate Satanist claims on their merits, preferring to invent procedural criticisms. The ruling did not hinder TST as much as it prevented the problem.

Growth theories: The realities of the last decades (Issues of sociocultural codes — to the expansion of the research program)

This article is aimed at examining institutional approaches to the theories of economic growth, and touches upon especially the influence of sociocultural codes on the development of the world economy. The presented study compares the rates of economic growth, taking into account various classifications of count- ries according to Angus Maddison, Ronald Inglehart, and the cluster approach. One of the main results is a proposal to move from the dichotomy and study of “advanced—emerging states” over long time periods, used in Maddison’s research, to the study of subgroups of countries, including cluster analysis, over a more compact period — 1992—2019. With the help of clustering, it was concluded that the group of the most developed countries retains an advantage in the level of development but does not demonstrate growth rates higher than the “catching up” groups. Thus, the convergence of levels of development does not actually occur. The article also illustrates that a disaggregated analysis of growth by clusters creates interesting opportunities for a further development of the research program.

ПОКОЛЕНЧЕСКИЕ ЦЕННОСТИ И РОСТ ПОПУЛИЗМА (Рецензия на книгу: Pippa Norris, Ronald Inglehart Cultural Backlash. Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism. Cambridge University Press. 2019)

The article reviews a widely cited book “Cultural Backlash” by Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, focused on the recent rise of populism all over the world. According to the authors, the generation is the strongest predictor of authoritarian-populist values and voting for the ones. They understand populism as a rhetoric style, based on two main features: challenging the established power and proclaiming that people are the only source of legitimate power in a society. Old generational cohorts, tend to have more populist attitudes and vote for populist parties, while young cohorts have more libertarian values and less likely to vote for populists. Majoritarian institutional design, such as indirect presidential elections in the USA or plural electoral system in Great Britain exacerbate the rise of populism in these countries. Other contributors to this trend are so called “silent revolution”, a massive change of cultural and societal environment in many countries (access to higher education, women emancipation, migration, etc.), which old cohorts tend to oppose, and economic crises, which make people feel more vulnerable and provoke even the young cohort to incline to authoritarian-populist values. The book under review is a crucial paper for understanding massive success of populism in different countries for the last twenty years.

АКСИОЛОГИЧЕСКАЯ ФУНКЦИЯ ПРЕСС-КОНФЕРЕНЦИЙ ПРЕЗИДЕНТА В ПУБЛИЧНОЙ ПОЛИТИКЕ СОВРЕМЕННОЙ РОССИИ

The big press conferences of the President of Russia over the past two decades has become a tool for expressing the official position, public goal-setting, as well as a kind of «reconciliation» of the values of the political elite and Russian society. In this paper we purpose to identify value connotations in the discursive practices of participants of these press conferences in the 2001-2021. We want to complement existing empirical studies of public policy and adapt well-known theories of political axiology to Russian practice. We use such methods as cross-cultural research; content analysis; clustering and mapping; analysis of secondary sociological data; analysis of macroeconomic statistics; correlation analysis etc. We revealed the strengthening of the materialistic component of public discourse (by Ronald Inglehart) during periods of economic crisis. Generational gap is also influence on the structure of political values. Also we confirmed the Geert Hofstede’s thesis about the collectivist values dominance and high power distance in Russian society. Russian political discourse gravitates towards both egalitarian values (by Shalom Schwartz) and liberal values (by Milton Rokeach). We found a negative statistical relationships between the frequency of public mention of political values and their approval by the respondents, as well as between the frequency of using axiologemes with the dynamics of key macroeconomic indicators. The increase in the frequency of mentioning political values during periods of economic recession we interpret as attempts by the elite to rally around the flag in the face of economic difficulties. Persistent negative connotations between the public voicing of political values and their perception by respondents indicate the existence of a latent value conflict between the elite and society, which manifests itself in an increase in the demand for change.

References to the Russan Society’s Values in the Presidential Addresses to the Federal Assembly

The digital transformation intensifies a devaluation of traditional institutions and the need to search for new integrating factors which are called upon to be the values shared by the society. We purpose to identify the value connotations in the discursive practices of the Presidential Addresses to the Federal Assembly from 1994-2021. We use such methods as the identification and classification of values by cross-cultural research; content analysis; clustering and mapping; analysis of secondary sociological data from representative public opinion polls conducted in the analyzed years; analysis of macroeconomic statistics; correlation analysis, etc. We revealed the strengthening of the materialistic component of public discourse (Ronald Inglehart) during periods of economic crisis. We also confirmed the Geert Hofstede thesis of the dominance of collectivist values in Russian society, but not the high power distance. Russian political discourse gravitates towards both egalitarian values (Shalom Schwartz) and liberal values (Milton Rokeach). Persistent negative connotations between the public voicing of values and their perception by respondents indicate the existence of a latent value conflict between the elite and society, manifesting itself in an increase in the demand for change. We interpret the increase in the frequency of mentioning political values during periods of economic recession as attempts by the elite to rally around the flag, and also as a consequence of the gradual filling of values with new meanings in the mass consciousness. Persistent negative connotations between the the public voicing of political values and their perception by respondents indicate the existence of a latent value conflict between the elite and society, manifesting itself in an increase in the demand for change. The article both complements existing empirical studies of public policy and adapts well-known theories of political axiology to Russian practice.

A Review of Ronald Inglehart’s Postmaterialist Thesis and Its Application to the Greater China Area (Sections 1–5)

A Review of Ronald Inglehart’s Postmaterialist Thesis and Its Application to the Greater China Area (Sections 1–5)

Condiciones Institucionales para la Durabilidad de la Democracia

This article aims to identify the institutional conditions for the sustainability of democracy. From a comprehensive literature review which spans the general conditions of its emergence and permanence, the discussion introduced by Seymour Lipset, Ronald Inglehart, Juan Linz, and Robert Putnam are covered. The conclusions indicate that formal institutions that diminish political conflict related to electoral competition are positively conducive to the sustainability of democracy. In the other hand, a social capital that emphasizes norms of reciprocity and networks of civil commitment intuitively would affect the survival of democracy.

Cultural Backlash? How (Not) to Explain the Rise of Authoritarian Populism

AbstractThis book review examines the theory of populism advanced by Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart in Cultural Backlash. The authors offer a distinct explanation of the rise of authoritarian populism in advanced democracies. As societies become more liberal over time, older, more conservative cohorts feel under threat of losing majority status and allegedly turn towards authoritarian-populist parties that promise to stop the tide of liberalism. However, this theory of populism finds little empirical support. In contrast to what the authors argue, there is no polarization of attitudes between younger and older cohorts, and younger cohorts are more likely to vote for authoritarian-populist parties. To substantiate this claim, I replicate many of the analyses in Cultural Backlash and add additional ones with the newest wave of the European Social Survey and the Chapel Hill Expert Survey. I conclude by observing that while the cultural backlash theory of populism does not hold, this does not invalidate cultural approaches more generally.

Generation Y: Do millennials need a partner to be happy?

IntroductionEmpirical evidence on Ronald Inglehart's theory of value change shows that subsequent generations show a decline in values of physical and economic security (materialism) in favor of an increase in values of self-expression and autonomy (postmaterialism). MethodsWe investigate in a pre-registered study whether Inglehart's theory also applies to partnership, such that millennials think less that they need a partner to be happy. We used data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) study on 4540 17-year-olds from 16 birth cohorts. ResultsResults show that adolescents’ estimated importance of a romantic partner for personal happiness decreases on average with each subsequent birth cohort. Further significant predictors were socialization and relationship status of the parents, birth year of the father, as well as education and sex of the adolescent. Socioeconomic status and education level of the parents and birth year of the mother were not significant. ConclusionsFindings provide initial evidence that as society becomes more individualized, even personal happiness is increasingly seen as independent of significant others. Ronald Inglehart's theory of value change, however, seems to have only limited applicability as an explanatory model for this development.

Future Challenges of Secularization to Asian Christianity and Theology

Future Challenges of Secularization to Asian Christianity and Theology

民主主義の現在を理解するための3つの理論――Carles Boix, Democratic Capitalism at the Crossroads: Technological Change and the Future of Politics. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2019/Torben Iversen and David Soskice, Democracy and Prosperity: Reinventing Capitalism through a Turbulent Century. Princeton. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2019/Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019――

民主主義の現在を理解するための3つの理論――Carles Boix, Democratic Capitalism at the Crossroads: Technological Change and the Future of Politics. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2019/Torben Iversen and David Soskice, Democracy and Prosperity: Reinventing Capitalism through a Turbulent Century. Princeton. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2019/Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019――

Modernization man: the significance of Ronald Inglehart's theory for the social sciences

Ronald Inglehart, an outstanding political scientist, passed on May 8, 2021. This article attempts to pay tribute to him as a scholar and a person by narration of his theory and its significance. The authors emphasize that the idea of sociocultural modernization was central for him. His theory’s humanism is that a human and their motivational changes become a core of global modernization transformation. A concise account of Inglehart modernization theory is given from changes of social economic conditions and security to basic values shift to increase in freedom of choice and its institutional consolidation. Noted that despite of Inglehart being liberal and progressist, his theory is just scientific, but not a normative knowledge or an ideological conception. Its propositions have been tested multiple times with the data from the largest survey project ever, World Values Survey together with European Values Study. We recognize organizational merits of Inglehart who established and coordinated this survey project and a big community around it for a long time. We consider the place of his theory to be among other academic theories of global development like those in historical macrosociology and institutional economy. An attempt is made to learn lessons for Ukraine from Inglehart theory. Ukraine has not demonstrated a considerable shift to self-expression values, and objective conditions for it are unfavorable at the moment. In fact, an “economic miracle” and a long peace are needed for this. Conceptually, a coherent integration of the modernization theory and economic institutionalism is needed. Translation and popularization of Inglehart’s work, as well as wider usage of data from values surveys remain topical for Ukraine. After all, Ronald Inglehart himself deserves to be a scientist role model for us.

Values and electoral behavior of Russian citizens at presidential elections (2012, 2018): constancy and variability

Based on the empirical data of two sociological studies conducted in accordance with the uniform methodology using the personal questionnaire method in April 2012 and May 2018 (almost immediately after the election of the President of the Russian Federation), the article analyzes the structure of values of Russian urban voters, influencing their attitude to participation in the presidential elections and to the competing candidates. The socio-economic and socio-political conditions in Russia and their influence on the structure of values of urban voters are considered in the article. The article reveals the reasons why the fewer urban voters participated in the elections and a much larger number of them voted for Vladimir Putin when the economic situation of voters deteriorated in 2012 compared to 2018.The article shows that the structure of values of urban voters remains predominantly “materialistic” (according to Ronald Inglehart). The influence of the value structure of voters on their participation in voting at the presidential election and on the support of a certain candidate is revealed. On the basis of comparing the results of the presidential elections in 2012 and 2018, it is shown that during 6 years the ideological spectrum of candidates has expanded and began to express a wider range of political views on the further development of Russian society and state — from extremely liberal, democratic to extremely conservative, totalitarian, which is essential feature of the modern Russian party and political system. The middle of this spectrum was represented by liberal conservatism of Vladimir Putin, and his support in 2018 reflects a shift in the values of urban voters from the extreme right and the extreme left to the middle, toward liberal conservatism that is becoming inherent in an increasing number of urban voters.It is revealed that within the framework of the “materialistic” value structure of urban voters, the value of material wealth does not play a significant role when voters choose the future development of Russia. The value of unselfish patriotism and family is in the first place. The difficult political conditions in Russia in 2018 gave the voters patriotism a militant character that was absent in 2012. It united Russian society around Vladimir Putin even more and was the cause of a significant increase in his support from voters. Liberal component of conservatism in the program of Vladimir Putin (the expansion of economic, political, and spiritual freedoms) led to his support from moderately liberal voters. All these factors together predetermined the great success of Vladimir Putin in the presidential elections in Russia in 2018.

Social and cultural factors of intergroup tension diminution

The article presents data on the status of dependent and value orientations of people on their attitude towards social groups that differ from the majority of the population. Based on the analysis of the data of the 6th wave (2010–2014) of the World Values Survey, which shows that social levels occupying intermediate positions in the system of social statuses and value orientations are more tolerant than the layers occupying the extreme positions as representatives of social minorities. Intergroup relations are influenced by many factors, and intergroup relations themselves are often controversial. Therefore, in one situation, they can smooth out the prejudices that exist between groups, and in others, on the contrary — incite. The article focuses on identifying groups that have a high degree of tolerance. The study uses various indicators of intergroup tension. The results of a comparative cross-country analysis of an integrated database (1981–2014) of the World Values Survey are presented. It was found that an increase in the proportion of the lower middle class and people with a mixed post-materialistic orientation in the course of secondary modernization helps ensure a low incidence of negative intergroup attitudes. When interpreting the obtained results, the article uses the theory and method of measuring values developed by Ronald Inglehart, as well as the typology of countries proposed by Nikolai Lapin. All calculations were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0, Statistica 6.0, and statistical analysis methods, for example cluster analysis.