Falling Flat? The Impact of State Legitimacy, Capacity, and Political Trust on Flattening the Curve of COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirstie Lynn Dobbs
Keyword(s):  
Political Trust ◽  
State Legitimacy ◽  
The Impact

Asymmetrical Attribution of Performance in China

Asian Survey ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 978-1003
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Chen Chen ◽  
Jun Xiang
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Multilevel Mediation ◽  
Dual Pathway ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
The Impact

Existing studies of the impact of economic development on political trust in China have two major gaps: they fail to explain how economic development contributes to the hierarchical trust pattern, and they do not pay enough attention to the underlying mechanisms. In light of cultural theory and political control theory, we propose adapting performance theory into a theory of “asymmetrical attribution of performance” to better illuminate the case of China. This adapted theory leads to dual pathway theses: expectation fulfillment and local blaming. Using a multilevel mediation model, we show that expectation fulfillment mainly upholds trust in the central government, whereas local blaming undermines trust in local governments. We also uncover a rural–urban distinction in the dual pathway, revealing that both theses are more salient among rural Chinese.

Regaining Control? The Political Impact of Policy Responses to Refugee Crises

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Omer Solodoch
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
The Political ◽  
Government Control ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Immigration And Asylum ◽  
Border Controls ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In response to the political turmoil surrounding the recent refugee crisis, destination countries swiftly implemented new immigration and asylum policies. Are such countercrisis policies effective in mitigating political instability by reducing anti-immigrant backlash and support for radical-right parties? The present study exploits two surveys that were coincidentally fielded during significant policy changes, sampling respondents right before and immediately after the change. I employ a regression discontinuity design to identify the short-term causal effect of the policy change on public opinion within a narrow window of the sampling period. The findings show that both Swedish border controls and the EU–Turkey agreement significantly reduced public opposition to immigration in Sweden and Germany, respectively. In Germany, support for the AfD party also decreased following the new policy. Public opinion time trends suggest that the policy effects were short lived in Sweden but durable in Germany. These effects are similar across different levels of proximity to the border and are accompanied by increasing political trust and a sense of government control over the situation. The findings have implications for understanding the impact of border controls on international public opinion, as well as for assessing the electoral effect of policy responses to global refugee crises.

scholarly journals Institutional Factors Influencing Political Trust in Modern Russia

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 077-093
Author(s):  
Marina Yu. Malkina ◽  
◽  
Vyacheslav N. Ovchinnikov ◽  
Konstantin A. Kholodilin ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Trust ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Main Determinant ◽  
Redistributive Policy ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
Russian President ◽  
The Impact

The aim of this study is to analyze and assess the impact of institutional factors on political trust in various levels of government (federal, regional and local) in modern Russia. Data and methods. The study is based on microdata from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) “Life in Transition Survey” (LiTS). We examined such institutional factors of political trust as perceived government performance and level of corruption, as well as the level of interpersonal trust. The subjective decile of household wealth was an additional explanatory variable in our analysis. We estimated the model parameters using linear regressions with instrumental variables. Results and their application. First, we found that in 2016 the perceived effectiveness of the federal government was the main determinant of Russian trust in the president. At the same time, the perceived level of local corruption was a major factor of Russian citizens’ (mis)trust in local authorities. Second, we found that poor households turned out to be the most loyal groups of the population towards the Russian president, and we explained this phenomenon by the active redistributive policy of the federal authorities. Third, we revealed a significant positive relationship between political and interpersonal trust at the micro level. In conclusion, we made recommendations on the effective management of political trust in modern Russia.

State fragility and human development: a study with special emphasis on social cohesion

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-61
Author(s):  
Belay Seyoum
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
State Fragility ◽  
State Legitimacy ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of state fragility on select indicators of human development and identify aspects of state fragility that have the greatest impact on poverty reduction and sustainable development. The paper also explores the impact of social cohesion on human development as well as the mediating role of state legitimacy in mediating the relationship between social cohesion and human development.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on data from 180 countries and uses ordinary least squares regression and mediation analysis to explore the effects of social cohesion on human development.FindingsThe findings show a significant relationship between state fragility and human development. It suggests that policies and efforts aimed at enhancing social cohesion would have the most significant impact on human development. The findings also show that social cohesion not only has a direct effect on human development but it also has an indirect effect on human development through state legitimacy (mediator).Practical implicationsEven though state fragility has been largely associated with low income countries, different facets of fragility are manifested in various countries regardless of levels of economic development.Originality/valueThe study is timely in view of the evidence of increasing state fragility in many countries. Furthermore, this is the first scholarly work linking lack of social cohesion, state fragility and human development.

scholarly journals Where Do Distrusting Voters Turn if There is No Viable Exit or Voice Option? The Impact of Political Trust on Electoral Behaviour in the Belgian Regional Elections of June 2009

2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Hooghe ◽  
Sofie Marien ◽  
Teun Pauwels
Keyword(s):  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Compulsory Voting ◽  
Political Distrust ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
Electoral Behaviour ◽  
Regional Elections ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIt has been suggested that political distrust is associated with lower levels of voter turnout and increased votes for challenger or populist parties. We investigate the relationship between political (dis)trust and electoral behaviour using the 2009 Belgian Election Study. Belgium presents an interesting case because compulsory voting (with an accompanying turnout rate of 90.4 per cent) compels distrusting voters to participate in elections. Nevertheless, distrusting voters are significantly more inclined to cast a blank or invalid vote. Second, distrust is positively associated with a preference for extreme right (Vlaams Belang) and populist (Lijst Dedecker) parties. Third, in party systems where there is no supply of viable challengers (i.e. the French-speaking region of Belgium), the effect of political trust on party preference is limited. We conclude that electoral effects of political distrust are determined by the electoral and party system and the supply of electoral protest.

scholarly journals Trust in China? The impact of development, inequality, and openness on political trust across China’s provinces, 2001–2012

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc L Hutchison ◽  
Ping Xu
Keyword(s):  
Opposite Effect ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
World Value Survey ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Modeling Techniques ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Province Level

China has long represented a puzzle for scholars of democracy, who view political trust as an important indicator of regime legitimacy. Previous studies show that while democracies around the world experienced declining levels of political trust, the authoritarian Chinese government maintained unexpectedly high levels of trust. Using World Value Survey (WVS) data over a critical 12-year period (2001–2012) and multilevel modeling techniques, we explore both macro- and individual-level determinants of political trust in China. We find that province-level economic performance and individual-level income combine to influence political trust. Higher levels of individual-level income have a positive effect on trust in more developed provinces but an opposite effect in less developed provinces. Furthermore, individuals living in provinces with higher levels of inequality and openness tend to be less trusting of government. Our study offers critical insights not only for political trust in China but also the country’s political future.

scholarly journals Immediate rewards or delayed gratification? A conjoint survey experiment of the public’s policy preferences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Serup Christensen ◽  
Lauri Rapeli
Keyword(s):  
Political Trust ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Delayed Gratification ◽  
Distant Future ◽  
Temporal Aspect ◽  
Electoral Cycles ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Previous Scholarship

Abstract Previous scholarship has focused primarily on how citizens’ form policy preferences and how those preferences are taken into account in democratic decision-making. However, the temporal aspect of policy preferences has received little attention, although many significant societal problems have consequences that extend far into the future. To fill the gap, we examine to what extent citizens are willing to support policies, when rewards can only be expected after several electoral cycles. Using a conjoint survey experiment, we demonstrate that while a slight tendency towards more immediate policy rewards is discernible, citizens are not as impatient as has been widely assumed. In contrast with previous research, political trust does not affect the impact of the time horizon of policy choice. Instead, we find that people with higher education are more likely to choose policies the benefits of which materialize in the distant future. These findings add to the growing evidence which suggests that citizens’ short-sightedness is not a very strong driver of democratic myopia.

scholarly journals On the impact of the occult on state legitimacy and democratization aid in Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Kohnert
Keyword(s):  
Belief Systems ◽  
Development Aid ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Political Class ◽  
State Legitimacy ◽  
Independent Churches ◽  
State Governance ◽  
The Impact

The impact of occult belief on legitimacy of the state and on aid for democratization in Africa: Among politicians and development experts in Africa alike there is a growing awareness of the never decreasing importance of the belief in magic and witchcraft on political decision making since pre-colonial times. Demonstration of the control of occult forces as a means of enhancing legitimacy of traditional or charismatic rule had been considered for over a century to be the prerogative of traditional chiefs and their marabouts; now it proved to be effective for the modern political elite and the state as well. An increasing number of African states officially recognized the existence of magic and witchcraft, and they adapted the imposed colonial law accordingly. In addition magic-religious belief systems, as represented by the vodun or African independent churches (e.g. the Kimbanguists), boasting to control witchcraft, are promoted by African political leaders to enhance legitimacy both of the political class and of state governance. At the same time, development experts tried to take into account the socio cultural dimension of development; they called for an "endogenization" of development aid. This call was justified, because endogenization should be considered as a pre-requisite of sustainable aid; however, under certain conditions it may be ambiguous and dangerous as well. Concerning the consideration of occult belief it may lead to the promotion of illegitimate rule and violation of basic human rights.

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