Present research shows that the content of left-right ideological identification varies across societies, quite frequently the deviation from the common/wide-spread understanding of Left and Right is confirmed in case of Eastern Europe. The studies of the content of Left and Right have concentrated primarly on individual level variables, but in order to expand the understanding of ideological identification and variation in it this study takes into consideration also the macro level determinants, the history and the context of the societies. In order to do so, I focus on new democracies where the development of the left-right identification can be analysed using the survey data. The aspect of special interest is the association between left-right identification and authoritarian legacy of the societies. In order to do so, the study encompasses countries with communist and right-authoritarian past from several regions of the world (Eastern and Southern Europe, Latin America, Asia), trying to clarify which are the similarities and differences in ideological identification and which factors lie behind this.
The planned research uses multilevel regression analysis, for determining which macro and micro level variables (values and attitudes, socio-economic included) influence the person's ideological self-identification. The study uses WVS/EVS data from 1981-2008. The main purpose is to give a general cross-national overview of ideological identification, but if/where possible, I also try to cover it over time.
