Crises and Contestations of the Liberal Script

Macartan Humphreys

1 Overview

Next stages of SCRIPTs research may contain a theme group on the connection between crises\(^*\) and liberal orders (leads: Heike Klüver, Alexander Libman).

I am interested especially in the impact of crises on liberalism.

  • Rich topical topic
    • Multiple crises, simultaneous and extended: migration, corona, climate, conflicts
    • Theoretically complex

\(^*\) Crisis defined, following Brinks and Ibert (2020), defined by uncertainty, urgency and threat

1.1 Today: Groundclearing

Here some thoughts and some evidence:

  1. Some conceptual reflections on crisis and contestations

  2. Some data points from:

    • Corona studies with Heike Klüver, Johannes Gieseke, Felix Hartman, Ferdinand Geissler
    • SCRIPTs survey analysis with Jonah Foong, Lukas Antoine, Heiko Giebler, Ramus Ollroge

  3. Thoughts looking forward

    • Rich agenda
    • Theoretical work to do as very likely heterogeneous processes and contradictory logics
    • Will require conceptual disaggregation

1.2 Crisis (\(X\))

1.3 Crisis (\(Y\))

1.4 Crises

Crises: Multiple, simultaneous.

Themselves contested, often along lines along which liberalism is also contested:

  • Denial of climate change
  • Corona skeptics
  • Rejection that migration influx is a crisis
  • (There was even recently a rejection that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza)

In part, perhaps, because all elements of the definition: uncertainty, urgency and threat depend on perceptions

1.5 Is there a crisis of liberalism itself?

Possibly exaggerated, and possibly poorly posed (some cold water on this proposition later)