Original
Forgiving the Government: The Waning Effect of Citizen Grievances in China
Abstract
Public grievances do not automatically translate into collective or even individual resistance, but pent-up grievances threaten governments because they may trigger regime-challenging actions when opportunities arise. This study examines to what extent public grievances against state authorities may become pent up. Using a longitudinal survey in China, this article finds that public grievances against local state authorities reduce citizens’ trust in the political system, but citizen grievances may not become pent up. Instead, these grievances tend to be individualized in the sense that they neither last for a long time nor diffuse in society. Individualized grievances reduce political pressure because they do not constitute threats to social stability. However, whether these grievances will last if citizens re-encounter similar conflicts warrants further research.
中文
宽恕政府：中国公民不满效应的减弱
摘要
公众不满并不会自动转化为集体甚至个体抵抗，但积压的不满会威胁政府，因为一旦机会出现，它们可能引发挑战政权的行动。本研究考察公众针对国家权威的不满在多大程度上可能积压。使用中国的一项追踪调查，本文发现，公众针对地方国家权威的不满会降低公民对政治体系的信任，但公民不满未必会积压。相反，这些不满往往是个体化的，即它们既不会持续很久，也不会在社会中扩散。个体化的不满减轻了政治压力，因为它们不构成对社会稳定的威胁。然而，如果公民再次遭遇类似冲突，这些不满是否会持续，还需要进一步研究。
关键词
公众不满、政治信任、社会稳定、集体行动、个体化、追踪调查、中国