Are Individualisation and Universalism in Decline? Exploring the Indicators of Modernisation in Europe and Anglosphere

The paper examines whether there has been a recent shift in the long-term trends of individualisation and universalism at both structural and cultural levels. Following Archer’s morphogenetic approach, we treat the structural level as the set of material, economic, and institutional conditions and the cultural level as the system of ideas, values, and beliefs. Culture is thus analytically distinct from, though interacting with, structure. The scope of the research is limited to the EEA, Switzerland, and the Anglosphere countries. Using official statistics, KOF globalisation and V-Dem indices, and WVS/EVS survey data, we apply polynomial regression models to estimate the hypothetical breakpoints and linear models when no breakpoint can be identified. In structural terms, we confirm a slowdown in micro-level structural individualisation. At the macro level, the results are inconclusive, highlighting the discrepancy between the narrative of individualisation persistent in theoretical and political frameworks, and the actual change in structural terms. Nevertheless, most of our regression models suggest at least a deceleration of this process. Regarding universalism, both micro- and macro-level structural indicators provide persuasive support for the claim that, following its long-term rise, the growth of the trend has slowed. At the cultural level, the results indicate that, while individuals are responding to structural conditions characterised by declining universalism, the process itself remains contradictory and uneven.