AJPS — 2026-08-13
Original Global harms, local profits: How the uneven costs of natural disasters affect support for green political platforms
Silvia Pianta, Paula Rettl
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.
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.
JCC — pp. 1-17 2026-08-02 Original Legalized Governance in China: Application and Dilemmas
Jieren Hu, Yuqing Huang, Ziying He
Abstract
（原文未提供摘要）
中文 中国法治化治理：应用与困境
Jieren Hu, Yuqing Huang, Ziying He
GOV 39/4 2026-08-01
Original Senior Bureaucrats, Coalitions and the Quality of Government: Accounting for Effective Governance in Fragmented Settings
André Borges, Arnaldo Mauerberg
Abstract
ABSTRACT Debates over the consequences of party and cabinet fragmentation for government performance remain unsettled. While some scholars argue that coalition governments foster instability and rent‐seeking, others contend that they enhance accountability and inclusion. This article argues that the effects of cabinet fragmentation depend on the rules of recruitment and promotion of the senior civil service. Using data from the Quality of Government Expert Survey covering 89 democracies, we examine how fragmentation interacts with both bureaucratic politicization and bureaucratic career systems. The results show that fragmentation amplifies the negative effects of politicized senior appointments, although we find limited evidence that fragmentation itself reduces the quality of government under high politicization. By contrast, fragmented cabinets are associated with more effective governance in the presence of career‐based structures characterized by internal recruitment of senior bureaucrats and long‐term careers. The findings highlight the importance of bureaucratic career structures for effective governance in multiparty systems.
APSR — pp. 1-12 2026-07-29 Original Is Blood Thicker Than Water(-and-Earth)? Partisanship Geography in Imperial China and the Limits of Quantitative History
YAO LIN
Abstract
Using Wang Anshi’s Reform as a case study, Yuhua Wang’s “Blood is Thicker Than Water” ( American Political Science Review , 2022) argues that geographically dispersed kinship networks incentivize political elites to support the building of a strong state, whereas geographically concentrated kinship networks undermine state building. In this article, I improve the sample with the help of additional historical records and show that the reported correlation fails to replicate when either the control issue or the outlier issue is considered. I then propose two alternative hypotheses on the role of kinship network dispersal in Wang Anshi’s Reform, based on two common explanations of its partisanship geography in Chinese historical scholarship, that is, status competition and policy adaptiveness. After examining those hypotheses respectively, I reflect on the limits of quantitative history that this case illustrates.
APSR — pp. 1-21 2026-07-29 Original Contested Governance and Civilian Prosocial Behavior: Evidence from Lab-in-the-Field Experiments in India
BRANDON BOLTE, VINEETA YADAV, BUMBA MUKHERJEE
Abstract
How does contested governance by states and competing armed actors affect the behavior of the governed? During civil conflicts, rebel organizations frequently provide public goods, judicial arbitration, and security, but these forms of governance often operate alongside local state institutions. Beyond avoiding violence, therefore, noncombatants must navigate the daily uncertainty of local governance by states and armed groups vying for territorial control. This, we argue, shapes their quotidian interactions with one another. Using a series of lab-in-the-field experiments and surveys from Naxal-affected Bihar, India, we find that individuals living under such contested governance exhibit greater interpersonal trust and trustworthiness and less opportunistic behavior. We propose two mechanisms to explain these patterns—fearing intra-community retaliation or substituting for the state with interpersonal reliance. Most evidence is only consistent with the latter. By connecting governance, rebellion, and social capital, this work makes important contributions toward understanding the micro-politics of local order during longstanding armed conflicts.
PNAS 123/31 pp. e2601690123-e2601690123 2026-07-28 Original Parenthood decisions in uncertain times: Experimental evidence from four countries
Arnstein Aassve, Letizia Mencarini, Chen Peng, Samuel Plach, Alonso Roman Amarales, Maria Letizia Tanturri
PNAS 123/31 pp. e2602426123-e2602426123 2026-07-27 Original Can stimulating ownership increase fertility: Evidence from housing interventions in China
Zhang Xin, Dongxue Wu, William A. V. Clark
Abstract
Declining fertility and the emergence of very low TFR's in the Asian economies has increased the focus on how to change the direction of the fertility trend. Several countries in Europe and Asia have explored a variety of stimulus packages to increase the overall TFR. In this research we review those policies and examine one of those interventions which has the potential to stimulate fertility-the role of access to housing. The core of housing approaches to stimulating fertility is to make housing more accessible and to use various forms of credit assistance with the aim of making ownership easier and more attractive to young families. The research asks how effective are these approaches to reversing the decline in fertility? And, are they a solution to very low fertility? The results provide some evidence that the focus on housing stimulus packages may increase fertility although most successfully for socioeconomically advantaged households.
JCC — pp. 1-18 2026-07-26 Original Care Under Strain: Caregiver Mental Health and Early Childhood Development in Rural China
Lei Wang, Chuhan Tang, Kaiwen Guo, Victoria Tang, Tiffany Zhu, Vivian Zhang, Sophia Li, Amelie Ibel, Anabelle Lin, Scott Rozelle