A New Era of Political Research: The 'List Experiment' Method and Its Impact on the Study of Central Asia

Abstract

This article analyzes the values of various political systems, with a particular focus on democracy as a distinct branch of governance. The article examines the history of democracy, the core value structure of democracies, and the perception of democratic values among residents of the former Soviet bloc. The subjects of the study are citizens of these countries aged 18 and older. The focus of the research is the value structure related to the acceptance or rejection of different forms of political systems, specifically the perception of democracy versus authoritarianism. The first part of the article analyzes the history of democracy as a form of governance, from ancient times to the Enlightenment, reviews key sociological theories concerning the development of the public sphere, studies the changes in the value structures of actors associated with economic development and modernization changes, and explores the contemporary perception of democracy in the former Soviet countries and Central Asia. It also examines how political values have been studied using the new data analysis methodology based on the survey method called the "List Experiment." The second part of the article analyzes the values of democratic and authoritarian governance among the residents of post-Soviet countries. Based on data from the international project studying cultural and value orientations of society, the World Values Survey (WVS), a comparative study of the political values of residents of the former Soviet Union is conducted. In these countries, perceptions of the values of freedom/security, perceptions of the democratic system, a strong leader, and a religious state, as well as perceptions of the institution of competitive elections, are explored.