Popular Political Support in Urban China

By Jie Chen

Book Overview

Has the current political system in the People's Republic of China lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the Chinese public? On the basis of three carefully drawn surveys of Beijing residents between 1995 and 1999, the author finds that diffuse support for the current political system--based on attitudes toward institutions and values--remains strong, at least among city-dwellers, though it is gradually declining. Specific support for current political authorities, as measured by evaluations of their performance in major policy domains, is much weaker, with many citizens evaluating the authorities' performance as mediocre.

In analyzing the longitudinal data presented here, the author finds that the same set of key sociodemographic attributes and sociopolitical orientations variably influence citizens' attitudes toward the political system and their evaluations of leaders' performance. Further, the study shows that citizens' attitudes toward the system, on the one hand, and their evaluation of incumbents' performance on the other, have different impacts on forms of political participation, such as voting and contacting authorities.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804750572
• ISBN13: 9780804750578
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A Groundbreaking Book!

This book truly is a groundbreaking book at least for three reasons. First, it effectively challenges our conventional view about the legitimacy of the Chinese government, and hence improves our understanding of the relationship between the government and the masses in that dynamic country. Second, the book contains a unique and extremely rich data about people's political attitudes in urban China, which come from systematic, longitudinal surveys. And finally, the theoretical rigor reflected in this book sets a good example of how general political theories can be applied to area studies. This book definitely deserves a wide range of audience!