scholarly journals Digital Media and Democracy: A Systematic Review of Causal and Correlational Evidence Worldwide

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Lorenz-Spreen ◽  
Lisa Oswald ◽  
Stephan Lewandowsky ◽  
Ralph Hertwig
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Emerging Democracies ◽  
Several Variables ◽  
Inference Methods ◽  
Established Democracies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Variables

One of today's most controversial and consequential questions is whether the rapid, worldwide uptake of digital media is causally related to a decline in democracy. We conducted a systematic review of causal and correlational evidence (N=498 articles) on the link between digital media and different political variables, such as trust, polarization or news consumption. We further focused on the subset of articles that employed causal inference methods. Across methods, the articles report associations between digital media use and most political variables. Some associations, such as increases in political participation and information consumption, are likely to be beneficial for democracy and were often observed in the Global South and emerging democracies. Other consistently reported associations, such as declining political trust, advantages for populists, and growing polarization, are likely to be detrimental to democracy and were more pronounced in established democracies. We conclude that while the impact of digital media on democracy depends on the specific political variable and the political system in question, several variables show clear directions of associations. We believe that the evidence calls for further research efforts and vigilance by governments and civil societies to better understand and actively design the intimate interplay of digital media and democracy.

scholarly journals Digital media, political authoritarianism, and Internet controls in Southeast Asia

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-39
Author(s):  
Aim Sinpeng
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Political System ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Future Prospect ◽  
Political Opposition ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Arab Spring ◽  
The Impact

A sharp rise in the use of digital media in Southeast Asia in recent years has raised questions about the impact of these digitally networked technologies on the prospect for democratization in a region known for its authoritarian resilience. In the absence of a regional uprising as witnessed in the Middle East through the Arab Spring, Southeast Asian authoritarian states have maintained their durability despite a massive surge in online political activities and in some cases, digitally mediated large-scale mobilization of opposition groups. What explains authoritarian resilience in Southeast Asia in the face of rising opportunities for online political opposition? This article argues that while digital media has emerged as an important repertoire of activism, particularly for political opposition groups, a deft combination of political authoritarianism and increasing Internet controls have stunted democratic pressure in society and hampered future prospect for democratization. It also offers a comparative analysis of how the Internet more generally and digital media in particular has affected state-society relations in Southeast Asia in recent years. In order for digitally mediated political opposition to meaningfully challenge the existing authoritarian incumbents, sufficient opening in the political system is needed. This means, authoritarian states with competitive, routinized elections which have recently experienced large-scale or sustained mobilization by opposition groups are most likely to be susceptible to breakdown than closed regimes.

scholarly journals The System Works Fine: The Positive Relationship Between Emphasis on Individual Explanations for Inequality and External Political Efficacy

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Greenwood-Hau
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Political System ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Efficacy ◽  
The Political ◽  
High Status ◽  
The Impact

This article addresses the largely overlooked question of whether explanations for inequality are related to appraisals of the political system. It posits a positive relationship between individual explanations for inequality and three indicators of appraisals of the political system: satisfaction with democracy, political trust, and external political efficacy. Individual explanations for inequality are a form of system justifying belief and constitute part of a wider ideological view of the status quo social order as just and defensible. This positive view of the functioning of society may flow over into appraisals of the political system, imply a positive disposition towards high-status groups including politicians, and remove the motivation to blame the political system for ongoing inequality (which is instead seen in a positive, meritocratic light). The relationships between explanations for inequality and appraisals of the political system are tested for the first time in the United States, using 2002 ANES data, and in Great Britain, using data from a survey fielded in 2014. The results in the United States show few consistent or significant relationships between explanations for inequality and any of the appraisals of the political system. However, the results in Great Britain show consistent, robust, and statistically significant positive relationships between individual explanations for inequality and external political efficacy. The inconsistency in these results may stem from the differing temporal and national contexts of the surveys. It is also likely that the ranking measures of explanations for inequality in the GB data distinguished respondents for whom individual explanations are particularly important, who have a less negative appraisal of external political efficacy. However, more work is required to investigate the effects of question format, the impact of national and temporal context, and the causal direction of the relationship between explanations for inequality and appraisals of the political system.

Who do you believe? Political parties and conspiracy theories in Pakistan

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-119
Author(s):  
Niloufer Siddiqui
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
The United States ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Emerging Democracies ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Established Democracies ◽  
The Impact

In authoritarian states, emerging democracies, and well-established democracies alike, alternative accounts that contest official state narratives are common. Why do people believe such accounts even in the absence of supporting evidence? While this question has been explored in the United States, relatively little research has assessed it in other contexts. Through a survey experiment carried out in Pakistan, this article tests the impact of cues by political parties on belief in such conspiracy theories. The results provide evidence in favor of partisan cueing: When alternative narratives are endorsed by political parties viewed favorably by the respondent, they are more likely to be believed. I suggest that political parties are able to capitalize on misinformation and a lack of trust in official institutions for tactical advantage. Results differ by subgroup: Higher income and urban respondents are swayed more by their own party source than are lower income and rural individuals.

"The impact of the digital actor in the political act and its role in the change in Egypt in 2011"

2019 ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Mohamed Shteb Aidan ◽  
Nawaf Abdulqader Jawad
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Change ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Internet ◽  
State Control ◽  
Dynamic Pattern ◽  
Process Of Change ◽  
Political Act ◽  
The Impact

The digital actor has created the process of change in Egypt. The digital media have played an important role in organizing and leading the movement and developing the dynamic pattern of the mass rebellion against the Egyptian political system through the possession of the civil forces and the virtual individuals of the Internet capabilities, which exceeded the influence of the system by its security, intelligence, Which also contributed significantly to the rebellion of the Egyptian citizen on the list, and the liberation from the constraints and authoritarian controls, imposed by state control, which led to the success of political change in Egypt after the declaration of (Mohamed Hosni Mubarak) to give up of the power.                       

scholarly journals Seen one, seen ‘em all? Do reports about law violations of a single politician impair the perceived trustworthiness of politicians in general and of the political system?

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 448-477
Author(s):  
Anna Halmburger ◽  
Anna Baumert ◽  
Tobias Rothmund
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Child Pornography ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
The Political ◽  
Financial Fraud ◽  
System P ◽  
Trait Inferences ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Impact

By bringing together a sophisticated conceptualization of political trustworthiness (integrated model of trust) with theorizing from information processing (trait inferences, inclusion-exclusion model), our research aimed at investigating the impact of a politician’s unlawful behavior on political trust. In four experimental studies, we investigated how laypersons draw inferences from media reports about a politician’s law violation to the trustworthiness of (a) that politician, (b) politicians in general, and (c) the political system as a whole. Participants who read a bogus newspaper report about a violation of law (child pornography or financial fraud) ascribed lower integrity, benevolence, and competence to the respective politician compared to those in a control condition (Study 1, 3, & 4). The perceived trustworthiness of politicians in general and the political system was also found to be decreased in one study (Study 2), which did not include items asking for the trustworthiness of the law-violating politician. By contrast, two studies including such items revealed only indirect effects through the perceived trustworthiness of the politician in question (Study 3 & 4). Our results suggest that law violations negatively affect the responsible politicians. In line with the inclusion-exclusion model, the impact from the wrongdoing of one politician to all politicians or the political system seems to be highly influenced by boundary conditions.

Pengaruh Lintas Budaya Pada Pemasaran Internasional Dengan Pendekatan Perilaku Konsumen

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-176
Author(s):  
Endy Gunanto ◽  
Yenni Kurnia Gusti
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Behavior ◽  
Marketing Strategy ◽  
Consumer Culture ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Cross Culture ◽  
Several Variables ◽  
Cultural Orientations ◽  
The Impact

In this article we present a conceptual of the effect of cross culture on consumer behavior incorporating the impact of globalization. This conceptual idea shows that culture inûuences various domains of consumer behavior directly as well as through international organization to implement marketing strategy. The conceptual identify several factors such as norm and value in the community, several variables and also depicts the impact of other environmental factors and marketing strategy elements on consumer behavior. We also identify categories of consumer culture orientation resulting from globalization. Highlights of each of the several other articles included in this special issue in Asia region. We conclude with the contributions of the articles in terms of the consumer cultural orientations and identify directions for future research.

Asymmetrical Attribution of Performance in China

Asian Survey ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 978-1003
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Chen Chen ◽  
Jun Xiang
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Cultural Theory ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Mediation Model ◽  
Multilevel Mediation ◽  
Dual Pathway ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
The Impact

Existing studies of the impact of economic development on political trust in China have two major gaps: they fail to explain how economic development contributes to the hierarchical trust pattern, and they do not pay enough attention to the underlying mechanisms. In light of cultural theory and political control theory, we propose adapting performance theory into a theory of “asymmetrical attribution of performance” to better illuminate the case of China. This adapted theory leads to dual pathway theses: expectation fulfillment and local blaming. Using a multilevel mediation model, we show that expectation fulfillment mainly upholds trust in the central government, whereas local blaming undermines trust in local governments. We also uncover a rural–urban distinction in the dual pathway, revealing that both theses are more salient among rural Chinese.

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