External Political Efficacy Research Articles

Uprising of the young generation: exploring the association between social mobility belief and political engagement intention among Hong Kong youth

Civic engagement, particularly political engagement, is an important aspect of youth development. In response to rising youth activism, this study examined what was related to youth’s emerging intention to engage in both normative (legal) and non-normative (illegal) political actions through the lens of social mobility beliefs. Based on the reports of college students in Hong Kong (N = 1,033), the findings revealed that social mobility belief regarding average people (i.e., societal belief) rather than that regarding oneself (i.e., personal belief) was negatively related to youth’s intention to engage in normative political action. Furthermore, parallel mediation analyses showed two indirect effects of social mobility beliefs after controlling for sociodemographic factors, post-materialistic values and political interest. Specifically, youth who endorsed a stronger societal social mobility belief tended to perceive lower social injustice, and they were then less willing to engage in normative and non-normative political actions. Additionally, those who endorsed a stronger societal social mobility belief tended to report higher external political efficacy, and they were then more willing to engage in normative political actions. The findings highlight the importance of considering youth’s worldviews in the theorization of the development of political attitudes and behaviors.

Cultivating Political Efficacy: Facilitation as a Catalyst for Democratic Education and Civic Competence

ABSTRACT Participation in democratic processes is a cornerstone for good governance and societal trust. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and academic literature emphasize enhancing civic engagement to foster democracy, shape policies, and build societal trust. Within this context, the concept of facilitation gains prominence as a vital mechanism that enhances participatory inclusivity and better decision-making through capacity-building. However, the current scope of facilitation is limited, mainly emphasizing its role as a skill for democratic engagement but neglecting its capacity to confront declining political efficacy. To address this oversight, this study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of facilitation in the context of democratic participation and political efficacy. Conducting a systematized review of 54 publications, the paper contributes significantly to the largely underexplored domain of facilitation theory. The study's findings offer a nuanced understanding of facilitation's role in democratic engagement. Far from just serving as a tool for managing interpersonal relations, the data demonstrate that facilitation is primarily employed to navigate process conflicts concerning agency, power, and responsibility. Furthermore, the data highlights a significant link between facilitation practice and increased internal and external political efficacy. These insights position facilitation as a crucial catalyst for democratic education, playing a key role in fostering a more engaged and resilient democratic society.

A Look at External Political Efficacy and the Role of Digital Skills in the Adults U.S. Population

The ability to effectively use digital technology and problem-solve are critical skills for maintaining democratic health, particularly as civil society and the modern digital landscape continuously evolve. However, information on whether individuals have the critical problem-solving skills to use digital technology and confidently affect change is yet to be further explored. Using data from the 2017 Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies ( n = 2749), we examined the associations between digital problem-solving skills and the three levels (low, neutral, high) of external political efficacy in the U.S. adult population. We used multinomial logistic regression and found a positive association between digital problem-solving skills and external political efficacy, while explanations for the three levels of efficacy are nuanced. Continuous development of digital problem-solving skills through adult education has implications for political efficacy, and ultimately for the promotion of a variety of civic engagement in the adult life stages.

The Structure of Individualized and Generalized Political Trust: A Network Analysis of Data from Two Representative-Sample Studies

This study examined the relationship between generalized (trust in the political system) and individualized (trust in a specific political actor) political trust in two surveys with representative samples from Latvia (total N = 2,001). The results of a regularized partial correlation network analysis of the data from both surveys revealed that variables associated with each level of trust formed separate clusters, which were virtually unrelated in Study 1, and moderately related in Study 2. Across both datasets, political cynicism was the only variable robustly (negatively) related to both levels of trust. External political efficacy was strongly related to generalized political trust, whereas internal political efficacy was unrelated to either level of political trust. Generalized interpersonal trust was only weakly related to generalized political trust and was unrelated to individualized political trust. The findings show that trust in the political system and trust in specific political actors form separate, although related, network structures and are likely determined by a different set of variables, representing different kinds of psychological reasoning. Generalized political trust can be seen as part of a general attitude towards one’s country, whereas individualized trust is based on more situational factors and shaped through the mechanisms of person perception and group perception.

A comprehensive model for predicting populist attitudes

Populist attitudes are multi-causal, but their determinants are often studied separately, in small groups, or in different samples. This study presents a comprehensive model for the prediction of populist attitudes using a single sample. We use an ideological approach and measure of populist attitudes as anti-elitism, popular sovereignty, and homogeneity, while the differences between the elite and the people are Manichean. Analyzing a sample based on a representative quota for gender, age, education and region of Slovakia (N = 254), it was found that relative deprivation, belief in simple solutions, external political efficacy, trust towards experts, and conspiracy mentality were significant predictors of populist attitudes after controlling for other variables. The effect of education and subjective income faded out after adding variables into the model. The model explained 54% of the variance in populist attitudes. The results are discussed in detail with respect to its limitations and country specifics.

Perceived discrimination, political efficacy, and political participation in American Indian adults

IntroductionPsychological factors linked to political participation are largely understudied in American Indians. Prior work notes relatively low levels of participation compared to other racial and ethnic groups and suggests that identification with being American Indian is linked to overall levels of civic engagement in part through perceptions of group discrimination.MethodsIn the current work, in a sample of 727 American Indian adults, we created two groups: Group 1 (N = 398) reported perceived discrimination related to race, and Group 2 (N = 329) reported perceived discrimination not related to race or ethnicity. We investigated the relationships between individual experiences of everyday discrimination related to race, levels of political efficacy, and political participation (Group 1), and individual experiences of everyday discrimination not related to race or ethnicity, political efficacy, and political participation (Group 2).ResultsWe found that greater experiences of everyday discrimination related to race was associated with higher levels of political participation through increased levels of internal and collective efficacy. In contrast, greater experiences of everyday discrimination related to race was associated with higher levels of political participation through lower external political efficacy. For Group 2, we found that greater experiences of everyday discrimination not related to race or ethnicity was not directly associated with political participation, but mediation analyses revealed a relationship with lower levels of political participation through decreased internal and collective efficacy. The indirect effect through external political efficacy was not significant.DiscussionGiven low levels of American Indian political participation, political efficacy could be a target for interventions aiming to increase participation in the political system.

The normatively troubling impact of attitudes toward the role of money in politics on external political efficacy

AbstractObjectiveWe explore whether Americans’ attitudes about the role of money spent on political campaigns and separately their attitudes about the influence of corporations impact their external political efficacy (EE) or perception that the government is responsive to them.MethodsWe conduct three independent sample surveys (total N = 2789) to measure individuals’ attitudes toward the role of money in politics (ARMP), attitudes toward corporations, and EE. We also measure political partisanship to test for moderating effects.ResultsARMP are strongly and positively associated with EE: those who are more favorable of the role money plays in politics view government as more responsive to them. This finding is specific to ARMP and does not extend to corporations, suggesting that public awareness of campaign spending is shaping individuals' views of government responsiveness. We find no evidence that this relationship is moderated by partisanship, despite differing views of money in politics between Democrats and Republicans.ConclusionOur results are normatively troubling and suggest that as campaign spending continues to rise, individuals will increasingly feel that the government is less responsive to their concerns.

Geographies of discontent: measuring and understanding the feeling of abandonment in the Chilean region of Valparaiso (2019–2021)

Abstract Political discontent, frequently mirrored in voting patterns, extends beyond ballot votes. By focusing on Valparaiso, Chile, we introduce a more comprehensive measure, external political efficacy (EPE), capturing a sense of abandonment and gauging public sentiment towards the political system’s responsiveness to their needs. Our analysis addresses individual and area-level factors underpinning individual variations in EPE. The evidence suggests that long-term territorial socio-economic disadvantage, rather than low-paid employment, is significantly related to individual discontent, highlighting lowered beliefs in system responsiveness.

The angry voter? The role of emotions in voting for the radical left and right at the 2019 Belgian elections

This study examines the role of negative (anger, fear) and positive emotions in addition to political attitudes (political trust, populist attitudes, external political efficacy) as key determinants of voting behaviour. We rely on the RepResent voter survey conducted in 2019 in Belgium ( n = 3236) allowing us to assess the relationship between emotions, political attitudes, and the vote for radical right (VB, PP) and radical left parties (PTB-PVDA). Findings indicate that anger is significantly and positively related to voting for radical left and right parties, while controlling for key political attitudes and issue positions. Fear and positive emotions are not significantly more related to voting for radical parties than for other parties. The results suggest that anger should be more systematically integrated in electoral research. These findings call for further analysis on the causal mechanism linking emotions and voting behaviour, and the (in)direct effects of emotions on voting.

Twitter Communication Among Democracy Actors: How Interacting With Journalists and Elected Officials Influence People’s Government Performance Assessment and Trust

Prior research highlights broad democratic benefits of sustained public trust in the government, and the confidence that the government performs responsively addressing citizens’ problems (i.e., unemployment, cost of living). As social media enhances citizens’ opportunities to interact with journalists and elected officials, little is known about these communication effects on people’s government trust, and citizens’ evaluations about how well the government is addressing important society problems. Relying on a two-wave US representative panel survey data, this study builds on prior literature to introduce Twitter Communication with Democracy Actors: journalists and politicians, as a single, yet two-dimensional construct. Then, advancing different ordinary least squares (OLS) predictive panel models, results indicate that people who interact with democratic actors on Twitter trust the government and assess its overall functioning more positively. Additional moderating tests indicate social media interactions with democracy actors help citizens who might need it the most, specifically those who have lower levels of external political efficacy. The study provides theoretical implications of findings and suggestions for future research.

‘Warming up’ to populist leaders: A comparative analysis of Argentina and Spain

What makes populist leaders, responsible for many episodes of democratic backsliding, especially appealing to a significant part of the electorate? In the following pages we argue that the effect of perceptions regarding leaders’ ‘warmth’ causes them to be perceived as having good intentions toward and even being part of ‘the people,’ resulting in a more positive overall evaluation among citizens with more critical views of democratic representativeness (external political efficacy). We test this hypothesis in two very different political systems, Argentina and Spain, using data from original surveys that contain batteries of questions on warmth and competence trait dimensions for multiple leaders in both countries. The results show that while perceptions of traits along both warmth and competence dimensions are important for the evaluation of all leaders in democratic systems, the interactive effect between external political efficacy and perceptions of warmth is important for explaining more positive evaluations of populist leaders.

Do they feel like they don’t matter? The rural-urban divide in external political efficacy

Rural areas have often been labelled by the literature as ‘left-behind’ areas or ‘places that don’t matter’, implicitly suggesting that residents of these communities feel neglected by political elites. This article studies the rural-urban divide in external political efficacy, which reflects individuals’ beliefs about the responsiveness of political elites, while also examining if compositional and contextual factors can explain such a divide. Drawing on data from the European Social Survey, the results reveal a significant rural-urban gap in external efficacy, which is partly explained by differences in the sociodemographic characteristics of rural and urban dwellers, but not by disparities in their evaluation of the provision of basic public services. Notably, this rural-urban gap in external efficacy is substantively smaller in those countries with higher levels of electoral malapportionment that lead to an overrepresentation of rural areas in national parliaments.

Depressive rumination and political engagement

ABSTRACT Rumination, or negative repetitive thinking, is a significant risk factor for depression and a common and pervasive habit of thought. Using original data from two online surveys of British adults conducted in March 2021 and February 2022, we examine associations between measures of political engagement and the two types of depressive rumination computed from Nolen-Hoeksema’s Response Styles Theory: brooding (the maladaptive component that assesses negative aspects of self-reflection) and reflective pondering (the adaptive component focused on problem-solving). We show that (1) higher brooding is associated with lower internal political efficacy and voting; (2) higher reflective pondering is associated with higher external political efficacy; and (3) reflective pondering increases voting propensity for nonpartisans but not for partisans. Thus, while maladaptive rumination is detrimental to political engagement, adaptive rumination appears to be beneficial. Our findings advance our understanding of the role of reflection in democratic citizenship.

A safety net against populism? An investigation of the interaction effect of political efficacy and democratic capacities on populist attitudes

ABSTRACT The paper interprets populism as a symptom of a mismatch between how the democratic polity operates and how citizens conceive their own aspirations, needs and identities vis-à-vis the polity. However, democracy requests certain attitudes and skills from citizens: political engagement, a reflective attitude, scrutiny of the power holders and balancing trust-based cooperation with critical reactions towards political authorities. In line with this, we investigate how external and internal political efficacy are associated with populist attitudes in the case of people who have and who do not have certain democratic capacities. Our findings drawing upon an original survey covering 15 European countries show that higher internal political efficacy is associated with more populist attitudes in the case of people with incomplete democratic capacities, but complete democratic capacities yield a ‘safety net’ against this effect. However, the negative relationship between external political efficacy and populist attitudes does not depend on these capacities: stronger dissatisfaction with the responsiveness of political elites leads to more populist attitudes irrespective of people’s democratic background. Nonetheless, our findings imply that a stronger emphasis on certain democratic practices and values in political socialization or civic education could prevent stronger political confidence would turn into populist views about politics.

Powerless in the digital age? A systematic review and meta-analysis of political efficacy and digital media use

Many citizens feel powerless in the current globalized political context, despite the potential of digital media to increase their perceptions of being informed about politics and expand their opportunities to interact with elected officials to try to influence government decisions. We analyzed 193 studies to document the most popular ways to conceptualize, measure, and model political efficacy when also studying digital media. Furthermore, we conducted a meta-analysis of correlations. We find that the positive estimates are larger, on average, when considering internal political efficacy and smaller but still positive when considering external political efficacy. We also examine how the relationships differ according to the type of media use and political system, whether authoritarian (e.g. China) or democratic. We propose a theoretical framework that considers reciprocal effects. Online information may contribute to feelings of being informed about politics and feelings of being informed lead to online political participation.

Reassessing Provincial Political Cultures: Evidence from Five Decades of Canadian Public Opinion Surveys (1974–2019)

AbstractIn 1974, Richard Simeon and David Elkins published an influential analysis of provincial political cultures. Nearly half a century later, their results still operate as the baseline against which new studies compare their own results. In this article, I re-examine their conclusions, combining five decades of Canadian public opinion survey data (1974–2019). The article replicates their analysis by focusing on three dimensions of political culture examined by Simeon and Elkins: political cynicism, internal political efficacy and external political efficacy. It also expands on their work by accounting for contextual factors that can potentially drive or hinder provincial differences in political culture. The results suggest that Simeon and Elkins’ interpretation of Canadian provincial political cultures needs to be updated, as the patterns they found differ markedly from those identified in this article.

청년의 정치효능감이 사회신뢰와 정부신뢰에 미치는 영향 연구

The younger generation has become the focus of various policies proposed by political circles, including those discussed during South Korea’s recent 20th presidential election. Despite the prioritization of “fairness,” which is considered the most important value by the younger generation, and efforts to secure their votes, political circles have failed to gain their sympathy. Numerous surveys have shown that the younger generation perceives society as unfair, which leads to a decline in trust in the government and society.
 This study attempted to analyze the relationship between the political efficacy of the younger generation, social fairness, and trust in the government and society. To accomplish this, descriptive statistical analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and covariance structure analysis were conducted. The results indicate that the internal and external political efficacy of young people has a positive effect on government trust and social trust through social fairness. Thus, enhancing the political efficacy and social fairness of the younger generation is necessary to increase their trust in the government and society. The study concludes by presenting theoretical and political implications.

The relationship between political efficacy and self-rated health: An analysis of Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban subgroups compared to non-Latinx whites in the United States

Latinx represent a growing population in the United States (US) that continue to experience a disproportionate burden of disease. However, health disparities vary across Latinx subgroups, including Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban communities, particularly when assessing self-rated health. Given the nature of political exclusion in the US, these differences may be associated with underexplored political factors, or political determinants of health, within the social environment that distinctly shape health among racial and ethnic minorities. To explore potential pathways that connect the political environment to individual-level health outcomes among Latinx subgroups, political efficacy (or one's perceptions about one's power to influence political affairs) was assessed as a correlate of self-rated health. We used secondary data from the 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-election Survey to conduct ordered logistic regression analysis to determine whether two domains of political efficacy, internal and external political efficacy, were correlates of self-rated health among Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban subgroups as compared to non-Latinx whites in the US. We also tested for differential associations across Latinx subgroups as compared to non-Latinx whites. The sample consisted of 3156 respondents (1486 Mexicans, 484 Puerto Ricans, 159 Cubans and 1027 non-Latinx whites). Among Puerto Ricans, results revealed that lower levels of internal political efficacy were associated with higher levels of self-rated health. Conversely, among other subgroups, positive associations between internal political efficacy and self-rated health were observed. This study provides empirical evidence of a relationship between internal political perceptions and health perceptions that has not previously been established within the Latinx health disparities literature. Future investigations should continue to examine pathways that connect political determinants to individual-level health outcomes, particularly among communities that disproportionately experience political exclusion.

Disentangling the relation among trust, efficacy and privacy management: a moderated mediation analysis of public support for government surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT This study examines the effects of political/cultural beliefs and situational perceptions on public support for government surveillance amidst COVID-19, using a representative survey conducted in Hong Kong. Our results indicate that situational responses (i.e. privacy trust and self-efficacy) balance against each other in mediating the effects of political/cultural beliefs (i.e. political trust, political efficacy, democratic-individualism) and situational perceptions (i.e. perceived cost and benefit of disclosure, perceived threat of COVID-19) on surveillance support. Both perceived benefit of disclosure and political trust positively affects surveillance support indirectly by promoting the contributing mediator privacy trust while suppressing the inhibiting mediator privacy self-efficacy. Perceived cost of disclosure shows no direct effect, but a positive indirect effect on surveillance support by suppressing privacy self-efficacy; perceived threat shows a positive direct effect while a negative indirect effect by suppressing privacy trust. Internal political efficacy shows a strong negative direct effect, but no indirect effect; and external political efficacy shows a negative indirect effect by promoting privacy self-efficacy. Alternative media use, as a proxy for democratic-individualism, mitigates situational perceptions’ effects on surveillance support, regardless of the directions. The findings advance our understanding of the formation process of public opinion on government surveillance.

Democratic resilience: citizens’ evaluation of democratic performance during the great recession in the European Union

ABSTRACT During the Great Recession, European democracies underwent major political changes, from the spread of institutional discontent to the rise of radical populist parties. The erosion of democratic satisfaction in EU member states after the exogenous shock of the economic crisis is a significant phenomenon that requires innovative analysis and explanation. This article develops a new conceptual and empirical framework that examines how democracies are affected by exogenous shocks and the determinants of resilient democracies. The study explores the notion of democratic resilience, conceptualized as democratic resilience as the system characteristics which successfully adapt to or overcome democratic delegitimization processes after a shock. The analysis provides a classification of democracies by trajectory, distinguishing between preventive, recovered, and damaged democracies, and identifies which political characteristics have successfully increased or decreased democratic resilience. External political efficacy and economic satisfaction are highlighted as indispensable components and mediators of political and economic contextual features for a more resilient and stable political system during economic crises.