The Double-Edged Effects of Government Responsiveness on Authoritarian Stability

• In Event: Perspectives on Authoritarian Durability and Survival

Abstract

Despite lacking electoral incentives, officials in authoritarian regimes provide numerous petition channels designed to respond to citizen grievances. Previous research contends that by mimicking responsiveness in democracies, these participatory institutions will increase public support for the regime. In this paper, I show that rather than increasing regime support among all citizens, government responses of varying quality have divergent effects on citizen support and political participation over time. By following 1500 petitioners' online speech and political behavior over a six-month period—-three months before and three months after they submit an appeal to government-run petition accounts on Weibo (Chinese equivalent of Twitter), I find that receiving a substantive response—-those that resolve the appealed problem—-motivates citizens to speak more positively of the regime and increase engagement with government institutions. Receiving a symbolic response—-those that are rhetorical without solving the problem—-also motivates more positive expressions towards the regime. That said, getting no response (55% of petitioners) increases negative speech against the regime. More importantly, receiving no response or only a symbolic response—-accounting for 94% of petitioners—-motivates these citizens to reduce appeals through government-run channels and instead, seek more coordination with other societal actors (e.g., private entrepreneurs, foreign media) for petitions against the government, which has the potential to destabilize the Chinese Communist Party regime over time.

Author

• Tongtong Zhang, American University