Conservative values have a different effect on political orientation in Central and Eastern European countries than they do in the West.

Certain values, such as conservatism and liberalism, are assumed to have a close link to the political orientation of citizens. However is this effect the same across all European countries? Anna Aspelund presents the findings of a study on the link between conservative values and left-right political orientation in 28 European countries. The results show that while values such as ‘resistance to change’ and an ‘acceptance of inequality’ are closely linked to right-wing political orientation in Western Europe, they have a very different effect in Central and Eastern Europe. Only a small number of Central and Eastern European countries show a link between these values and right-wing political orientation, suggesting that we should be careful about making pan-European generalisations on the link between values and politics.