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Do Confucian Values Deter Chinese Citizens’ Support for Democracy?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 December 2016

Yida Zhai
Yida Zhai*
Affiliation:
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Yida Zhai, School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai 200030, P. R. China. E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

The cultural prerequisites of democracy have been receiving considerable attention over the past decades. Confucian values are regarded as incompatible with liberal democracy and are considered to impede democratization. This article explores the effect of Confucian values on the commitment of ordinary Chinese people to democracy. Support for democracy is divided into attachment to democracy and adherence to liberal democratic values. Attachment to democracy indicates explicit support for democracy, while adherence to liberal democratic values reflects implicit support for democracy. This study examines the impacts of Confucian values on each of these areas. The results show that there was no evidence that Confucian values inhibit the Chinese public's support for democracy in a democratic transition, but they are negatively connected to liberal democratic values, which are fundamental to the resilience and consolidation of a fledgling democracy. However, liberal democratic values are prone to increase with the generational shift.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , June 2017 , pp. 261 - 285
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2016 

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Footnotes

The author is grateful to Professors Ken'ichi Ikeda, Yukio Maeda, Paul A. Djupe, and the anonymous referees for their most valuable suggestions and comments on earlier drafts of this article.

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