Description

Popular support for the incumbent regime is widely recognized to facilitate the durability of democratic regimes, but its role in sustaining non-democratic regimes has not received systematic empirical inquiry. This paper will address two critical and much debated theoretical questions: (1) how do non-democratic regimes generate popular support; and (2) what factors influence popular attitudes towards the current regime, and the potential support for regime change? These theoretical questions are derived not only from current debates about political developments in China, but also reflect ongoing scholarly debates regarding the sustainability of authoritarian regimes and the cultural, structural, and strategic variables that influence regime survival. This paper examines the influence of public goods provision, assessments of the government’s policy performance, and political attitudes on the level of popular support for the local and national governments

Bruce J. Dickson is professor of political science and international affairs at the George Washington University. His research and teaching focus on comparative politics, the political dynamics of authoritarian regimes, and the prospects for political change in China. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Smith Richardson Foundation, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. His most recent books are Wealth into Power: The Communist Party’s Embrace of China’s Private Sector (Cambridge University Press, 2008), and (with Jie Chen) Allies of the State: China’s Private Entrepreneurs and Democratic Change (Harvard University Press, 2010). His articles have appeared in China Quarterly, Comparative Political Studies, Comparative Politics, Journal of Democracy, Political Science Quarterly, and other journals. He received his PhD in political science from the University of Michigan.