How responsiveness works in mainland China: Effects on institutional trust and political participation

This study investigated whether and how institutional responsiveness, a constitutive element of dialogic communication, influences institutional trust and political participation among members of the public in mainland China. A total of 4068 respondents from mainland China completed questionnaires. Results demonstrated that institutional responsiveness indirectly reduced publics’ destructive non-institutional political participation by building institutional trust. Extending the public relations literature on dialogue, we found that this indirect relationship is conditional on online political information seeking rather than online political expression among members of the public. For people who frequently use the Internet to seek political information, institutional responsiveness is more likely to boost institutional trust, which decreases the likelihood of participation in offline political activities.     

Negative ability bias from conditioning on a confounded mediator: A directed interaction test and case study

Sociologists increasingly recognize the problem of endogenous selection bias in mediation analysis. Building on a sub-model of Elwert and Winship (2014), we propose that a widely-overlooked endogenous selection bias exists in the form of a negative ability bias in sociological models of economic outcomes where job attributes are often included as mediators but confounded by unobserved abilities. We use simulations to show that the bias size increases with collider selectivity under common modeling assumptions, and we leverage this property to develop a directed interaction test to detect this bias. To demonstrate the principles of the test and the practical significance of the bias, we re-examine the paradox of Communist Party Premiums in post-2000 China—the sudden disappearance of income returns to Party members, as found in recent studies. The results are strikingly consistent with the hypothesis that a negative ability bias has recently overwhelmed the persistent Party premiums in China.     

从议会制到总统制: 制度转型与土耳其的政治选择

2014年土耳其的首次总统直选将总统制改革正式提上了议程,2017年修宪公投的成功使土耳其进入了从议会制到总统制的过渡时期,2018年的总统选举则标志着土耳其议会制的终结和总统制的开启,可谓是"百年未有之变局"。土耳其通过民主选举的方式实现了国家政治体制的转型,是自主探索本国发展道路的尝试,虽然"新土耳其"的前景仍具有不确定性,但无论是否成功,这对于中东国家甚至全球转型国家都具有借鉴意义。本文无意于探讨议会制与总统制的制度优劣,而主要考察土耳其在建国之初何以选择议会制和20世纪后期出现总统制辩论的原因,埃尔多安的总统制设想及其演变过程,土耳其实现从议会制到总统制转型的动因,以及总统制为土耳其带来的机遇与挑战等问题,以期丰富学界对土耳其政治发展道路和民主转型等问题的理解。     

中国与海合会国家金融合作的问题及对策分析

近年来,中国与海合会国家的金融合作形式日益多元,同时也取得了一定成果并积累了宝贵经验,为双方进一步开展金融合作打下了坚实基础。当前,中国与海合会国家的金融合作深度有限,具体表现为金融合作规模增长缓慢,互设金融机构数量不足,合作水平参差不齐、层次不高,平台作用不足等问题。本文从政治环境、金融体系、文化认同等方面分析影响中国与海合会国家金融合作的主要因素,并提出从政治评估、战略对接、货币结算、文化认同等方面进一步提升中国与海合会国家金融合作水平的应对策略。     

当代中国政治文化发展及创新初探

本文主要阐述当代中国政治文化发展的三个阶段,分析当代中国政治文化发展演进的特点,并提出当代中国政治文化创新发展的路径。     

认同嵌入：网络社会大学生政治社会化的非均衡互构

大学生政治社会化是大学生社会化的重要组成部分,网络的迅速发展为大学生政治社会化提供了崭新的领域。网络社会环境下展开大学生政治社会化的研究是建立在深入分析网络社会内涵的基础上,结合对大学生政治社会化的实证调研,分析网络社会大学生政治社会化的现状,并从角色认同和群体意识的角度分析网络社会大学生政治社会化的挑战与机遇。     

大学校园流行语与高校思想政治教育途径

大学校园流行语是高校文化的重要组成部分,是大学生文化心态和价值取向的鲜活反映。本文对大学校园流行语的流行原因及从流行语上折射出的大学生的思想行为特征进行了探究．提出高校的思想政治教育工作要巧妙运用流行语语境,有效实现大学主流文化的价值引领;合理利用流行语载体,充分实现大学主流文化的网络引领;准确把握流行语态势,全面实现大学主流文化的心理引领的改革举措,以期增强高校思想政治教育工作的针对性和实效性。     

Public relations (PR) in nation-building: An exploration of the South African presidential discourse

This research explored public relations strategies employed in the presidential discourses for building relationships among South Africans in a democracy. This was done through analyzing political discourses of the three South African Presidents since 1994–2009 of Mandela, Mbeki and Zuma. A comparative discourse analysis was used to examine five important dimensions in political discourses concerning nation-building. Different themes were identified: relationship managing, democracy, national identity, and national development. Additionally, an exploratory discourse analysis was conducted to further investigate the characteristics of the presidential political discourses on nation-building. These analyses in the present research provide contributions to foster cooperation, developing a common national identity agenda and social cohesion using political campaign strategies, particularly for government, policymakers and public relations practitioners (PRP's), government communication practitioners, who strive to build a better relationship between government and the public.     

Connecting young adults to democracy via government social network sites

Young adults’ increasing disconnection with public affairs and heavy reliance on social media for political communication suggest a strategic use of social network sites (SNS) by the government to foster relationships with young citizens and to improve their citizenship. However, scholars and practitioners have not reached consensus about the exact influence of individuals’ experience with government SNS. Focusing on young eligible voters, this study proposes and tests a conceptual model that measures the perceptual, relational, and behavioral outcomes of public engagement with government agencies on SNS. Specifically, the findings revealed a positive influence of government SNS engagement on perceived government transparency, perceived political efficacy, and public participation but to varying degrees depending on the government level (e.g., federal, state, and local). This study suggests that there is limited influence of public engagement on the perceived government-citizen relationship quality through SNS. This empirical research demonstrates how a contextualized investigation of public engagement and relationship management provides insights into the role that SNS can play in connecting young adults to democracy.     

It’s not cricket: examining political discussion in nonpolitical online space

Scholars of digital democracy share enthusiasm about the potential the Internet provides for democratic communication among citizens. Many applaud the prospect of an expanded, digital, public sphere; others are more cautious about whether the Internet may foster deliberative democracy. We attempt to provide a third alternative view by (1) focusing on everyday political talk in nonpolitical online forums and (2) expanding research beyond a singular deliberative model to attend to multiple frameworks for democratic discussion online. In this paper, we examine online political discussion of six globally prominent political issues in two transnational cricket forums. Our findings suggest that deliberative discussion coexists with liberal individualist and communitarian forms of communication in online sports forums. We discuss the implications of our findings for the future of mediated political discussion research.