Utopian Institutions of Society and Governance: The Case of Global Geopolitics

From the rise of China and the relative decline of the United States to regional instabilities throughout Eurasia, we are living in a geopolitically dynamic time. Despite the relative neglect of international relations as an influence on domestic political behavior, geopolitics can play a critical role in domestic politics and citizens’ societal engagement. This is likely pronounced in Australia as a middle power in a geopolitically uncertain and dynamic environment. Using the lens of utopian thinking, the present research investigates ordinary Australians’ utopian visions of geopolitical, economic, and social institutions, and their role in domestic political behaviors and societal engagement. Across two studies, we find that a newly developed measure of the Utopian Institutions Scale can capture utopian institutions in terms of geopolitical, economic, and social conservatism or progressivism and that these visions differentiate supporters of different political parties in Australia and predict motivations to engage in political processes. Nevertheless, a nationally representative sample in Australia showed a general tendency to endorse a geopolitically progressive vision of a Multilateral world order and to reject a geopolitically conservative vision of a Hegemonic world order. The finding is interpreted in terms of Australia's geopolitical location in its spatial geography, temporal history, and economic and cultural relationships.