How Ideology Shapes Legal Concepts: The Case of Public Order

Abstract

This study explores how ideology and legal reasoning intersect, using a unique network modelling approach to examine the vague legal concept of public order as a social representation. We find support for the assumption that while the core of public order is commonly agreed upon among lawyers, the periphery is variable and connected to ideology, especially Right-Wing Authoritarianism. In this regard, political beliefs seem to be linked with reasoning about some public order judgements, such as when assessing LGBTQ+ rights.