I know the idea sounds like an oxymoron at face value, but let's not be lazy and try to imagine how such a regime or society could come into existence. Because this is AH.com, we've made weirder concepts work in the past.
Basically, my general idea is that we have a state/regime which is very socially liberal and would seem progressive and enlightened to our minds, but is at its core fundamentally anti-democratic (and democracy-phobic, for lack of a better term). Civic liberties of a certain sort are allowed and encouraged, but they are kept on a tight leash and every citizen who the regime deems a threat is dealt with by either subtle or more blatant intimidation. Minorities within the society are treated well, in order to prevent revolution or the majority symphathizing with their plight and rising to their defence against the regime. Again, the regime doesn't treat these minorities of all sorts well out of conviction, but out of sheer pragmatism and self-serving cynicism. The single most important tenent of this regime is "give the people bread and circuses, give them a feeling of sophistication and an illussion of dissent against the regime, and quash any efforts to undermine the system in place".
On the foreign relations front, a country with this kind of regime/ideology is also imperialistic, xenophobic and has a clumsily concealed "messianic complex" about slowly changing the rest of the world - by diplomacy or force of arms - to their way of seeing and running things.
Basically, my general idea is that we have a state/regime which is very socially liberal and would seem progressive and enlightened to our minds, but is at its core fundamentally anti-democratic (and democracy-phobic, for lack of a better term). Civic liberties of a certain sort are allowed and encouraged, but they are kept on a tight leash and every citizen who the regime deems a threat is dealt with by either subtle or more blatant intimidation. Minorities within the society are treated well, in order to prevent revolution or the majority symphathizing with their plight and rising to their defence against the regime. Again, the regime doesn't treat these minorities of all sorts well out of conviction, but out of sheer pragmatism and self-serving cynicism. The single most important tenent of this regime is "give the people bread and circuses, give them a feeling of sophistication and an illussion of dissent against the regime, and quash any efforts to undermine the system in place".
On the foreign relations front, a country with this kind of regime/ideology is also imperialistic, xenophobic and has a clumsily concealed "messianic complex" about slowly changing the rest of the world - by diplomacy or force of arms - to their way of seeing and running things.
