Research Handbook on Liberalism

This timely Research Handbook reckons with the past, present, and future of liberalism at a time when anxieties are being expressed about its viability. Duncan Ivison brings together a broad and international range of leading experts to explore the complexities of liberalism, examining the extent to which it can address rising challenges from illiberalism to inequality.

Multidisciplinary in scope, it assesses the pressing issues facing liberalism and how they can be tackled, with contributions focusing on populism, immigration, gender equality, multiculturalism, climate change, economic inequality, racial injustice, and misinformation. Chapters cover broad meta-level questions from a global perspective while also providing specific institutional, historical, and political analyses. The Research Handbook draws attention to the diverse, shape-shifting nature of liberalism, leaving open the question as to whether liberalism’s flaws are fatal or rather an opportunity for renewal.

This accessible yet rigorous Research Handbook will prove an essential resource for students and scholars of political theory, philosophy, political science, economics, law, sociology, media and communications, and cultural studies. Academics and policymakers with an interest in both the historic roots of liberalism and contemporary politics will also find it vital reading due to its comprehensive exploration of current threats to liberal democracy.