Popular conceptions of democracy and democratic satisfaction in China

Abstract

Evaluating attitudes to democracy in an authoritarian political system is complex. Several surveys suggest that the majority of Chinese people feel satisfied with the level of democracy in China. In explaining this intellectual puzzle, this study addresses how different understandings of democracy influence satisfaction with the state of democracy. This study also investigates the relationships between liberal democratic values and popular conceptions of democracy, and between liberal democratic values and satisfaction with democracy. The results show that Chinese citizens who view elections and political rights as essential to democracy are dissatisfied with the current state of democracy. People who hold liberal democratic values are also dissatisfied with the current state of democracy. In other words, popular conceptions of democracy make a difference in the people’s satisfaction with the democratic level in China. With a rise in the population adhering to procedural conceptions of democracy, satisfaction with the level of democracy in China may decline in the future.

Popular democratic perception matters for political trust in authoritarian regimes

“…Our study shows that in those people, the positive effects of government's social performance on political trust attenuated, while the negative effects of government's political performance on political trust became stronger. In contrast to the older generations and less educated people, the younger generations and educated people tend to subscribe to the procedural perceptions of democracy (Shi, 2014;Zhai, 2018a). With inter-generational replacement, an increase in the population that views political rights as an essential component of democracy will have relevant implications for an authoritarian system's democratic transition in the future.…”

“…Today, there is no country that publicly opposes democracy but autocratic countries try to manipulate the concept of democracy for serving undemocratic rules. Existing literature has shown that the Chinese public has a high level of support for democracy (Shi, 2000; Shi and Lu, 2010; Zhai, 2018a). Yet, pro-democratic attitudes have not resulted in a widespread public struggle for democracy or democratic movements.…”

“…This study aims to take this line of research further and examine how citizens’ views of democracy may influence the relationship between their evaluation of government policy performance and political trust. Popular democratic perceptions are important for regime support and its stability (Baviskar and Malone, 2004; Zhai, 2018a). This article investigates variations in the levels of government performance perception and political trust in China as different patterns in popular democratic perceptions intervene in their relationships.…”

Analyzing the Role of Social Media in Strengthening Democracy in Pakistan

“…It does not only fulfil the basic requirements of information but also connect the people with the world of knowledge (Anwar & Jan 2010). The citizen's satisfaction with democracy is an interlinked universal process that develops a true political process (Zhai, 2018). Democracy requires a particular physical place and arrangements for democratic concerts.…”

“…Citizens who think political and electoral rights are basic requirements of democracy are satisfied with the current democratic system, where social media penetration has a significant relation with democracy. It provides a platform for the participant's democratic activities (Zhai, 2018;Beetham, 2004;Herrmann, 2016;Jha & Kodila-Tedika, 2019).…”