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The ballot or the bullet? Public awareness of grassroots elections and regime stability in China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2022

Wei-Feng Tzeng Open the ORCID record for Wei-Feng Tzeng [Opens in a new window]
Wei-Feng Tzeng*
Affiliation:
Graduate Institute of China Studies, Tamkang University, No. 151, Yingzhuan Rd., New Taipei City 25137, Tamsui Dist., Taiwan (R.O.C.)
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This study examines the attitudinal and behavioral consequences of holding local elections in China. Using survey data to test the propositions that elections do not alleviate pressure from society butreasonably make state–society conflict manageable for the Chinese Communist regime, evidence suggests that being aware of elections is negatively associated with citizens' involvement in collective activities that would destabilize the regime. Instead, the awareness of elections is positively correlated with people's willingness to use the institutionalized mechanism, letters and visits (shangfang), to solve their concerns. The findings imply that although elections may help buttress China's authoritarian rule, the survivability of the Chinese Communist Party is still dependent on whether existing institutions can function well in reducing public grievances.

Keywords

Awareness of electionsChinese grassroots electionsregime stability
Type
Research Article
Information
Japanese Journal of Political Science , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , September 2022 , pp. 231 - 253
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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