Local–national political trust patterns: Why China is an exception

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 436-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cary Wu ◽  
Rima Wilkes

Is political trust in China anomalous? In most countries there are systematic differences in the level of trust in national and local government that take one of three patterns. In some countries, individuals trust the national government more than local government (hierarchical trust); in others individuals trust local government more than national government; while in some countries individuals trust both levels of government equally. Of 11 Asian societies, the only country where hierarchical trust predominates is China. Elsewhere the norm is to put more trust in local levels of government. While previous studies have described the pattern of trust in China, no study has considered relative trust as an outcome or comparatively. Taking advantage of the 2006 and 2010 Asian Barometer Survey data we consider whether the hierarchical trust pattern in China is the result of political control, culture, and/or performance. We find that political control explains the hierarchical trust pattern in China.

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jami Nelson-Nuñez ◽  
Kate Cartwright

AbstractWhat explains mayors’ collaboration with nongovernmental organizations in delivering public goods and services? While some successful collaborations are established, in other cases the call for NGOs to coordinate with governments goes unheeded. Collaboration minimizes the duplication of effort, maximizes information sharing, and builds capacity. Given the scholarly consensus on the importance of collaboration, we know little about it at local levels, where it may matter most. This article focuses on Bolivia, a country with deep decentralization reforms and an active NGO sector. It utilizes survey data on mayors from 2007 to provide insight into the variation in NGO–local government collaboration across a country. It argues that political context is important: mayoral turnover, greater community group engagement, and more municipal resources deter collaboration. The findings illustrate the strategic interplay between state and nonstate actors and explain the uneven geographies of partnerships in governance.


2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 929-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Zhang ◽  
Erping Wang

We empirically investigated the antecedents and effects of local political trust. The survey data (N = 424) were collected during postearthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction in China's Sichuan province in 2008. Findings indicate that local political trust is shaped not only by policy appraisal, but also by perceptions of informational and emotional support from the local government. The attitudinal and behavioral consequences of trust suggest that the more that people trust, the more positive will be their evaluation of the local government, and the more resources they will be willing to allocate to communal facilities. Finally, the theoretical and applied implications of this study are discussed.


Author(s):  
V. V. Vagin ◽  
N. A. Shapovalova

The article is devoted to the actual issue – institutional analysis of initiative budgeting and territorial public selfgovernment, as well as the possibility of their integration. Over the past few years, a system of civil participation in budget decisions has been built in Russia, the regulatory framework of practices has been created, thousands of employees of state and local government bodies have been trained, project centers have appeared for ensuring development of initiative budgeting. Citizen participation in budget decisions can significantly accelerate the development of the lower level of local government. Initiative budgeting is an innovative instrument of public finance and at the same time a social technology allowing for the real involvement of citizens in the issues of state and municipal governance. Initiative budgeting development programs make it possible to transfer financing of projects aimed at solving local issues with the participation of citizens onto a systemic basis. The results and materials of this study can serve a foundation for theoretical understanding of the institutional development of public finances at the regional and local levels. At the same time, this practical area that was intensively developing in recent years requires deep institutional analysis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jephias Mapuva ◽  
George P Miti

Devolution, which was incorporated into the Constitution of Zimbabwe through section 264, is a new phenomenon in Zimbabwe. This incorporation came about because of the need for participatory governance and the devolution of power away from the centre. Over the years, local governance has been informed by a plethora of pieces of legislation that do not provide an enabling environment for citizen participation, giving Zimbabwe’s local government a chequered history that excludes citizens from participating in public affairs that affect their lives. An analysis of section 264 of the Constitution revealed that devolution has the propensity to enhance transparency, efficiency and effectiveness as well as the fulfilment of central government’s responsibilities at provincial and local levels. This article argues that the belated implementation of the devolution of power has delayed improved service delivery, effectiveness, efficiency and accountability within local governance. This article further seeks to explain how the implementation of section 264 of the Constitution can bring about good local governance.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Fred Paxton

Abstract Despite increasing research into populist parties in power, their impact on subnational institutions has been neglected. Taking a novel multilevel perspective, this article inquires into the policy consequences of populist radical right parties (specifically, the FPÖ and Lega) in local government, and the effect of their simultaneous participation in national government. The article shows the expansion of exclusionary policy that follows their concurrent presence in national and local government. The process that leads from national government entry to local policy influence is traced using interview and newspaper data. The article argues that the influence of central parties over these ‘showcase’ localities is rooted in different multilevel governance configurations. These vary cross-nationally according to two factors: the strength of mayors’ linkages with higher government levels in the different institutional settings and, due to the different extent of party nationalization, the strategic value of the municipality to the central party.


2020 ◽  
pp. 002190962096676
Author(s):  
Eric Chen-hua Yu ◽  
Kah-yew Lim

This paper analyzes the extent to which the performances of local and national governments can shape local election outcomes. Specifically, we use various waves of survey data from Taiwan’s Elections and Democratization Studies (TEDS) to explore whether a person’s assessments of local and central government performances affect his/her vote for the incumbent party candidate. Our empirical findings partially verify the so-called “referendum theory” and can be summarized as follows: First, voters who hold a positive assessment of the performance of local government are more likely to vote for an incumbent who seeks reelection, but this is not necessarily the case for an incumbent party candidate in an open-seat contest. Second, Taiwan’s local elections cannot be regarded as referenda on the central government because the central government approval rating does not consistently affect vote choices across different types/levels of local elections.


Yuridika ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Prajwalita Widiati ◽  
Haidar Adam

Decentralisation puts weigh in the dynamic of local government. As consequences of decentralization, local governments are entitled to enact local regulation in order to serve public services in the daily basis. Local regulation as the product of the Mayor of course does not stand alone. It is part of national legislative system which lay at the low tier of the hierarchy of laws. It should be work effectively and harmoniously with the system. By analyzing the nature of decentralization and the function of local legislation, it is essential to establish a good review mechanism for this legislative product. Different mechanism results in different consequences to the regulation. This article has analysed three mechanisms both preventive and represive; executive review which is done by the Governor and National Government; judicial review which is done by the Court and even political review which is exercised by the local representatives who act as balancing power to the local executive.Keywords: Peraturan Kepala Daerah, Executive Review, Judicial Review, Political Review


Author(s):  
Silvia Bolgherini

The recent and still enduring global economic and financial crisis deeply impacted the institutional framework in Italy and Spain by prompting a series of reforms, which ultimately re-shaped the local government features. Based on a qualitative comparative analysis of recent reforms, the author shows that (directly and indirectly) crisis-driven provisions have significantly impacted the local levels and changed the central/local relations in both countries. During the years of crisis, a decrease in local discretion in its three main facets (fiscal, administrative, and political/functional) has taken place. This outcome could both allow for a better understanding of how central and local governments have interacted during the crisis and to contribute to the formulation of more general considerations on local discretion and central/local relations in Italy and Spain.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Buchan ◽  
Katrina Morrison

Community Justice Authorities (CJAs) were heralded on their inception as modernizing Scotland’s community justice system and resolving longstanding tensions between central and local government over community justice control, by encouraging partnership working and providing oversight at a regional level. However, they were largely unsuccessful and were quietly abolished barely a decade later. Using data from two projects, we analyse the policy ‘narrative’ of CJAs in relation to features of a changing political context – particularly the (re-)establishment of Scotland’s national government, its shifting relationship with local government and policy convergence and divergence with England and Wales. CJAs’ origins in local/national compromise created constitutional flaws which constrained their operation and ultimately sealed their fate, but they nonetheless began to develop distinct identities and contributions which have been largely overlooked. The case of CJAs illustrates how evolving local and national political contexts shape the development of justice institutions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiebing Wu ◽  
Yong Li ◽  
Chengcheng Song

This article focuses on the changing trends in political trust in China. Based on data drawn from the Asian Barometer Survey for 2002, 2008, and 2011, as well as the Chinese General Social Survey for 2010 and 2012, we find a declining trend in the level of political trust in China, whether it be trust in the central government, trust in the local government, or the central–local government trust gap. Additionally, the results of our analysis show a strong cohort effect on the erosion of political trust. This study provides solid empirical evidence of declining political trust in China and increases our understanding of the changing dynamics of political trust. By analysing changes in citizens’ values and in the political expectations of the new generation, this article sheds light on the antecedents of political trust in China, which is gradually changing across different generations.


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