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Polihot

Rising Engagement and Substantive Responsiveness: 13 Years of Online Petitioning in China

·593 字·2 分钟
Polihot 比较政治 公共行政 中国研究 China Online Petitioning Government Responsiveness Citizen-State Relations E-Government
CQ — pp. 1-17 2026-08-05 Original Rising Engagement and Substantive Responsiveness: 13 Years of Online Petitioning in China Matt DeButts, Tongtong Zhang Abstract Abstract The Chinese government has invested heavily in online petition platforms to channel public grievances, yet systematic longitudinal evidence on citizen–state interactions within these venues remains limited. This research report presents nationwide evidence showing that both public participation and government responsiveness through e-petition institutions have increased markedly since Xi Jinping took office. Analysing more than four million citizen appeals submitted to the country’s largest online petition portal, Message Board for Leaders, from January 2011 to January 2024, we find a twelvefold rise in petition volume and a fivefold increase in users, largely driven by urban residents in eastern provinces. Appeals have also diversified, with notable growth in housing-related issues and more strategic appeals directed at Party secretaries. Meanwhile, local governments have raised response rates from 50 per cent to 98 per cent, shortened average wait times from 176 to 19 days, and increased the substantive resolution rate from 17 per cent to 31 per cent over the past decade.

Large language models and conversational counter-arguments to antipublic sector bias

·785 字·2 分钟
Polihot 公共行政 政治行为 LLM相关 Large Language Models Persuasion Public Sector Bias Conversational Styles Preregistered Experiments
JPART — 2026-08-05 Original Large language models and conversational counter-arguments to antipublic sector bias John D Marvel, Sheeling Neo, Rachel Cho, Sangwon Ju Abstract Abstract Can a good argument change an individual’s mind? In three preregistered experiments, we explore this question in the domain of public sector organizational performance. We observe human subjects as they engage in conversations with a generative artificial intelligence programmed to argue in one of seven distinct “styles,” including a confrontational challenger style, a didactic style, and a sycophantic style. We develop a theory of effective argumentation predicting that conversational styles which are pleasant and engaging will be more persuasive than styles which are unpleasant or unstimulating. Contrary to this prediction, we find that conversational styles which challenge subjects’ negative views of government agencies produce significant positive attitude change, while sycophantic styles that indulge those views do not. Troublingly, subjects find the sycophantic styles more enjoyable, less frustrating, and more credible than the challenger styles. This dissociation between user experience and persuasive outcome—what we call “grudging persuasion”—suggests that attitude change does not require a pleasant conversational experience, and that the styles subjects enjoy most may be precisely the ones least likely to move them. Our findings point to a potentially dark side of large language model-based persuasion: sycophantic styles that users find most appealing are the least effective at correcting misinformed views.

The Effects of Policy Success Versus Failure Narratives

·593 字·2 分钟
Polihot 公共政策 政治行为 Policy Narratives Policy Success Policy Failure Public Opinion Experiment
PSJ 54/3 2026-08-04 Original The Effects of Policy Success Versus Failure Narratives Sarah Pralle, Emily Thorson Abstract ABSTRACT While public policies usually have mixed effects, succeeding at some aspects and failing at others, this nuance is often lost in public discourse when political actors like advocacy groups and politicians strategically emphasize either the successes or failures of particular policies. For example, advocacy groups often emphasize the failures of existing policy with the goal of galvanizing public attention and concern. However, little empirical evidence exists assessing the actual causal impact of these different approaches on public attitudes. This paper presents the results of a pre‐registered experiment in which participants watch a TikTok‐style short news video about either the success or failure of one of three different public policies and then are asked about their trust in government to handle the issue, their perceptions of the issue's importance, and their feelings of collective efficacy. While success and failure narratives are both effective at raising an issue's salience, focusing on a policy's failure has the downstream effect of increasing cynicism about the government's ability to address the issue.

Attacking Women or their Policies? Understanding Violence against Women in Politics

·431 字·1 分钟
Polihot 比较政治 政治行为 Women in Politics Political Violence Gender Discrimination Italy Mayors
JOP — 2026-08-03 Original Attacking Women or their Policies? Understanding Violence against Women in Politics Gianmarco Daniele, Gemma Dipoppa, Massimo Pulejo Abstract We present the first causal evidence that female politicians are more likely to face political violence. Using fourteen years of data on attacks against Italian politicians, we show that marginally elected female mayors—similar to men and elected in comparable towns—are three times as likely to be attacked. We find no gender differences in policy platforms, policymaking, performance, or corruption. Instead, violence emerges independently on women's choices, consistently with discrimination - rather than political influence - driving the gap in violence. Female mayors are less likely to seek re-election after attacks, highlighting violence’s role in perpetuating the gender gap.