Bread and Circuses: Sports and Public Opinion in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-55
Author(s):  
Dan Chen ◽  
Andrew W. MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
The Political ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Sports Culture ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
State Investment ◽  
Political Opinions ◽  
Heavy State

AbstractSports victory constitutes an important part of propaganda in authoritarian states. The heavy state investment in sports industries and sports culture in China illustrates the political importance of sports. However, few studies have systematically examined the exact impact of sports propaganda on public opinion. Using a survey experiment conducted in two Chinese cities, this article finds that broadcast highlighting national sports achievements has significant positive effects on general satisfaction and compliance with the local governments. These results expand on the small, but growing, literature on the effects of sports on political opinions and help detail the specific ways in which sports can affect political attitudes.

Political Attitudes of China’s Post-1980s Generation

2017 ◽  
Vol 09 (04) ◽  
pp. 112-124
Author(s):  
Wei SHAN
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
The Political ◽  
Public Issues ◽  
Public Opinion Surveys ◽  
The Government

The political attitudes of the post-1980s generation in China are important for understanding the country’s political future. Public opinion surveys reveal the post-1980s group as the least nationalistic and more sceptical of the government than the older generations. They show little interest in politics despite their confidence of participating in public issues. In the long term, Beijing will have to face a society led by the more critical and less obedient post-1980s.

scholarly journals “How Dare You!”—The Influence of Fridays for Future on the Political Attitudes of Young Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Parth ◽  
Julia Weiss ◽  
Rojda Firat ◽  
Manuel Eberhardt
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
The Political ◽  
Young Cohort ◽  
Exogenous Shock ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Independent Life ◽  
Political Opinions

In recent years, young adults have increasingly expressed their displeasure with climate policies, arguing that the preservation of the earth for future generations is not secured by existing policies. A growing number of young citizens demands action from politicians and accuses them of a lack of responsiveness. At the same time, young adults are undergoing political socialization, not only within their families, but especially in school, where they learn to lead an independent life and to form their own political opinions. However, what happens if students question the knowledge on the political system that they have acquired in school? This paper analyses how the exogenous “shock” of Fridays for Future has influenced pupils' political attitudes compared to other continuous skills that pupils learn in school. Relying on a unique survey experiment among pupils from different school types and among students in Germany (more than 300 respondents), we find that priming for Fridays for Future and protest participation significantly change perceived political responsiveness and satisfaction with democracy. The results demonstrate that the efforts of schools to prepare young citizens for professional life have no effect, while equal treatment in school is explanatory for varying political satisfaction. Protest participation seems to have a great influence on how the political attitudes of the young cohort develop.

Partisan Differences in Job Approval Ratings of George W. Bush and U.S. Senators in the States

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary C. Jacobson
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
State Level ◽  
Degree Of Polarization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Roll Call ◽  
Approval Ratings ◽  
Public Opinion Surveys ◽  
Sources Of Variation ◽  
Job Approval ◽  
Political Opinions

This chapter addresses issues related to partisan differences in political opinions by examining a unique set of state-level public opinion surveys. It compares the state-level determinants of the job approval ratings of the president and the senators and finds that they have almost nothing in common. The chapter then compares the sources of partisan differences in states' ratings of the president and senators and again finds that they have almost nothing in common. Next, it explores in greater detail the sources of variation in the degree of polarization inspired by senators' ratings, finding that these differ somewhat between Republican and Democratic senators but remain to an important degree under a senator's control. The chapter then shows how senators have adapted their roll-call behavior to the political leanings of their states, before drawing some conclusions.

scholarly journals Is the Political Animal Politically Ignorant? Applying Evolutionary Psychology to the Study of Political Attitudes

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 147470491201000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Bang Petersen ◽  
Lene Aarøe
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Straightforward Application ◽  
Basic Features ◽  
Modern Mass

As evidenced by research in evolutionary psychology, humans have evolved sophisticated psychological mechanisms tailored to solve enduring adaptive problems of social life. Many of these social problems are political in nature and relate to the distribution of costs and benefits within and between groups. In that sense, evolutionary psychology suggests that humans are, by nature, political animals. By implication, a straightforward application of evolutionary psychology to the study of public opinion seems to entail that modern individuals find politics intrinsically interesting. Yet, as documented by more than fifty years of research in political science, people lack knowledge of basic features of the political process and the ability to form consistent political attitudes. By reviewing and integrating research in evolutionary psychology and public opinion, we describe (1) why modern mass politics often fail to activate evolved mechanisms and (2) the conditions in which these mechanisms are in fact triggered.

scholarly journals PUBLIC OPINION AND EFFECTS OF DIRECT FOREIGN INVESTMENTS IN MACEDONIA

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-41
Author(s):  
Novak Lučić
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
The Political ◽  
Foreign Direct Investments ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Foreign Investors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Positive Effects

Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) reviewed from aspect f the country towards which they are directed, carry positive, but also potential negative effects. The research, whose results are presented in this work, includes evaluation of the attitude and of the public opinion and business establishments in the companies which are a result of the FDI, regardin the effects from the FDI and the overall significance for the economic and social development of Macedonia. The results of the research show that most of of the population is partially, as much as it is present in the media for public information, familiar with the FDI in Macedonia. Most frequent reasons for not being informed are the lack of interest, social elements, and the opinion that the information about the FDI in Macedonia is inspired politically, for promoting the government. The largest part of the population believes that the attitude towards the FDI should not be judged as positive or negative in advance, but the and that the effects from the FDI should be analyzed for each specific case. The most significant effect from the the FDI in Macedonia is the employment increase, both according to the public opinion and the business establishments of the FDI-resulted companies. Besides contributing to the employment, other most significant positive effects from the FDIs in Macedonia are: transfer of new technologies, transfer of knowledge, managerial experiences and skills of the foreign investors; positive influence of the FDI for strenghtening the competitiveness in the macedonian economy, better material position of the employees and indirectly, to a better social standard. The most significant negative effects which the FDIs could have in Macedonia are reaching profit on account of smaller salaries for the employees, avoiding tax responsibilities, arrangements with the authorities and possible influence on the political flows by the direct foreign investors in order to reach positive business environment by damaging other companies, whereas the public opinion evaluates as the biggest negative effect – reaching profit though small salaries to the employees, while the business establichment – the possible influence on the political flows in order to achieve appropriate business environment.

Bossa Mundo

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.E. Goldschmitt
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Film Music ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Brand ◽  
Brazilian Music ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Media ◽  
Rich Countries

Bossa Mundo chronicles how Brazilian music has been central to Brazil’s national brand in the United States and the United Kingdom since the late 1950s. Scholarly texts on Brazilian popular music generally focus on questions of music and national identity, and when they discuss the music’s international popularity, they keep the artists, recordings, and live performances as the focus, ignoring the process of transnational mediation. This book fills a major gap in Brazilian music studies by analyzing the consequences of moments when Brazilian music was popular in Anglophone markets, with a focus on the media industries. With subject matter as varied as jazz, film music, dance fads, DJ/remix culture, and new models of musical distribution, the book demonstrates how the mediation of Brazilian music in an increasingly crowded transnational marketplace has had lasting consequences for the creative output celebrated by Brazil as part of its national brand. Through a discussion of the political meaning of mass-mediated music in chronologically organized chapters, the book shifts the scholarly focus on the music’s transnational popularity from the scholarly framework of representing Otherness to broader considerations of a media environment where listeners and intermediaries often have differing priorities. The book provides a new model for studying music from culturally rich countries in the Global South where local governments often leverage stereotypes in their national branding project.

Communication

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian D. Liddy
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
And Control ◽  
Ordinary Citizens

The exercise of political power in late medieval English towns was predicated upon the representation, management, and control of public opinion. This chapter explains why public opinion mattered so much to town rulers; how they worked to shape opinion through communication; and the results. Official communication was instrumental in the politicization of urban citizens. The practices of official secrecy and public proclamation were not inherently contradictory, but conflict flowed from the political process. The secrecy surrounding the practices of civic government provoked ordinary citizens to demand more accountability from town rulers, while citizens, who were accustomed to hear news and information circulated by civic magistrates, were able to use what they knew to challenge authority.

Conclusions

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piero Ignazi
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Present Condition ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
Dead End ◽  
Democratic System

The Conclusion addresses the parties’ present condition in the European political systems. Indeed, at the dawn of the new century parties have become Leviathan with clay feet: powerful in the political arena thanks to control of state resources, but very weak in terms of legitimacy in the eyes of public opinion. Only by abandoning the citadelle in which they are entrenched, recasting societal linkages, relinquishing all their privileges, and dismissing their self-referential attitude might they recover the confidence of the electorate. Maintaining a state-centred status will only lead to a dead end, and this will also harm the democratic system itself. The collapse of parties’ legitimacy inevitably affects democratic institutions: the mounting populist and plebiscitary wave suggests how pervasive is the crisis and how dramatic the challenge.

Realignment and Beyond

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell J. Dalton
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
The Political ◽  
Democratic Process ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Economic Issues ◽  
Societal Changes

Affluent democracies have experienced tremendous socio-economic changes since the mid- twentieth century, which has reshaped public opinion, party programs, and electoral choices. This chapter first summarizes the societal changes that have been a driving force behind the political changes described in this study. One pattern involves the longstanding economic issues of contemporary democracies, and shifting social positions on these issues. In addition, an evolving cultural cleavage and its ties to broader attitudes toward social change have altered citizen policy preferences. In most affluent democracies, the parties’ responses to these changing citizen demands have produced a realignment to represent both economic and cultural positions. The chapter concludes by discussing the implications of the findings for the working of electoral systems and the democratic process more broadly.

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