The comparative public opinion survey “Public Attitudes towards the Liberal Script” (PALS) is part of the Cluster of Excellence "Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)". The goal of PALS is to measure citizen attitudes towards what we call the liberal script, a specific understanding of how society should be organized around liberal principles. After having conducted a first wave in 26 countries from December 2021 to July 2022, conducting a second wave in some countries served the following purposes: 1. Re-running the survey with as many respondents from wave 1 as possible in selected countries to explore whether individual attitudes toward the liberal script have changed over time (panel data), 2. interviewing additional respondents from selected countries of wave 1 to be able to make statements about the change of public opinion in these countries (cross-sectional data at two points in time), 3. adding additional questions to address, in particular, the changing global situation with regard to Russia’s war against Ukraine, and 4. extending the geographical coverage to four new countries, namely, Thailand, Israel, Serbia, and Hungary which can be described as battlegrounds concerning the liberal script.

The norms and institutions of liberal democracy, market economy, and open society have become increasingly contested worldwide. Is the rise of illiberal and authoritarian contestations reflected in a decline of citizens’ acceptance of liberal ideas and values? Are these contestations a response to unfulfilled promises, inherent tensions, or other unresolved challenges? As part of the Cluster of Excellence "Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)", the comparative public opinion survey “Public Attitudes towards the Liberal Script (PALS)" provides data that lets scholars address these questions. The goal of PALS is first and foremost to measure attitudes towards what we call the liberal script. PALS was conducted in 26 countries (+50,000 respondents) using CAWI (quota sampling) and CAPI (random probability sampling) modes of data collection. The sample draws from a diverse set of countries to provide a global perspective.