Testing the Influence of Autocratic Leadership,Democratic Leadership,and Public Service Motivation on Citizen Ratings of An Agency Head’s Performance

Abstract

Research is lacking concerning the impact of leadership styles on citizen attitudes toward the performance of government leaders. To address this gap, an online experimental survey was conducted to determine the effect of leadership styles on respondents’ perceptions regarding a fictitious superintendent’s performance in a school district. The results demonstrate that democratic leadership practices enhanced the performance reviews of the superintendent, while autocratic leadership practices decreased them. Respondents’ level of public service motivation (PSM) was also found to have a positive effect on the superintendent’s performance ratings. Furthermore, democratic leadership style moderated the relationship between PSM and the performance ratings assigned by respondents. In particular, individuals with high PSM rated the performance of democratic leaders higher as compared to individuals with low PSM. However, autocratic leadership was not found to moderate the relationship between PSM and the superintendent’s performance. These results are thoroughly discussed in the paper.     

全过程人民民主:时代价值、制度基础与实践空间

全过程人民民主是党的十八大以来我国社会主义民主政治发展的全新理论命题。全过程人民民主是中国共产党在百年未有之大变局下对人类政治文明新形态的实践探索,是推进国家治理现代化的现实逻辑,体现了中华民族伟大复兴中国梦的内在要求。在中国共产党的百年探索历程中,全过程人民民主有坚实的制度支撑、规范的运作机制、具体的程序设计,是最广泛、最真实、最管用的民主形态,既突出了中国社会主义民主政治发展的显著特色,也彰显了具体民主形式中所蕴含的人类共同价值。在新的历史起点推进全过程人民民主,要坚持党的领导、人民当家作主和依法治国的有机统一,在理想与现实、普遍性与特殊性、制度与实践的平衡中,适应人民群众对美好政治生活向往的需要,有目标、有步骤、有重点地积极推进。     

论行政发展的政治生态优化

管理行政是在近代民主政治的框架中形成的,以民主政治为其政治生态。政治—行政二分原则的确立既使行政在工具的意义上获得了相对于政治的独立性,又使行政必须受到政治的监督和控制。在此条件下,管理行政拥有了形式公共性。然而,随着实质公共性追求的确立,作为工具性行政的管理行政受到了挑战。在社会的高度复杂性和高度不确定性的条件下,促进合作的需要和社会治理主体的多元化等要求管理行政转变为服务行政。服务行政难以在形式民主的条件下得到实现,与之相适应的应是一种合作政治的生态。     

论"两个维护"的理论逻辑、历史逻辑与现实逻辑

"两个维护",即坚决维护习近平总书记党中央的核心、全党的核心地位,坚决维护党中央权威和集中统一领导。"两个维护"不是凭空产生的,有其深刻的理论逻辑、历史逻辑和现实逻辑。从理论逻辑来看,"两个维护"是马克思主义政党理论的当代体现,是对党的民主集中制的创造性运用。从历史逻辑来看,"两个维护"是对我们党和国家正反两方面历史经验和教训的深刻总结。从现实逻辑来看,"两个维护"是加强党的政治建设的首要问题,是中华民族伟大复兴的现实需要,是推进伟大斗争的战略选择。深刻理解这三重逻辑的理论意蕴,是深刻把握"两个维护"的极端重要性、以坚决的态度和实际行动做到"两个维护"的基础和前提。     

Coupling citizens and elites in deliberative systems: The role of institutional design

A significant shortcoming in contemporary deliberative systems is that citizens are disconnected from various elite sites of public deliberation. This article explores the concept of ‘coupling’ as a means to better link citizens and elites in deliberative systems. The notion of ‘designed coupling’ is developed to describe institutional mechanisms for linking otherwise disconnected deliberative sites. To consider whether it is possible and indeed desirable to use institutional design to couple different sites in a deliberative system, the article draws on insights from a case study in which a mini‐public was formally integrated into a legislative committee. The empirical study finds that it is not only feasible to couple mini‐publics to legislative committees, but when combined, the democratic and deliberative capacity of both institutions can be strengthened. To be effective, ‘designed coupling’ requires more than establishing institutional connections; it also requires that actors to step outside their comfort zone to build new relationships and engage in new communicative spaces with different sets of ideas, actors and rules. This can be facilitated by institutional design, but it also requires leaders and champions who are well‐placed to encourage actors to think differently.     

Beyond Dyads: Regional Democratic Strength’s Influence on Dyadic Conflict

Over the history of modern international relations research, we have moved from systemic and regional studies to empirical explorations of dyadic interactions. However, our statistical models have put the details of dyadic interactions under a microscope at the expense of ignoring the relevant regional context that these dyads interact in. This development has been in part due to computational limitations, but do we really believe that decision makers interact with one another while ignoring the regional power balance and the wishes of regional powers? In this article, I take a look at the well-researched relationship between democracy and peace by using a multilevel approach to dyadic interactions and the regions they are embedded in. The findings suggest that when the regional power balance favors democracies, it influences conflict between dyads, especially mixed dyads, by increasing the costs of aggression by autocracies and establishing regional norms of cooperation and compromise.     

Redefining Democratic Discourse in Thailand’s Civil Society

ABSTRACT

Thailand’s civil society has contributed to the country’s democratic regression. Underlying this political position are redefined meanings of democracy. This article seeks to shed light on these intriguing positions and processes by exploring the democratic discourses that prevail in Thailand’s civil society and their implications. The article does this by using a case study of a network of development actors associated with a public and influential Community Organisation Development Institution (CODI) organisation. It is found that democratic discourses are associated with a preoccupation with the sense of collective identity, defined through civil society’s communitarian vision. This preoccupation influenced their political emphasis on promoting “collective virtues.” It is argued that these discourses limit the democratic potential of Thailand’s civil society in a number of ways. First, they facilitate the building of connections between civil society and conservative elites. Second, the discourses endow civil society with an organisational culture that puts emphasis on promoting the roles of “good people” who are mostly selected by those at the top of the civil society organisations that are hierarchical.     

改革开放以来我国民主政治建设的基本历程及经验

改革开放以来,以邓小平、江泽民和胡锦涛为代表的中国共产党人始终注重加强社会主义民主政治建设,取得了巨大的成就,并积累了宝贵的经验：从我国国情出发,坚持中国特色社会主义政治发展道路;坚持党的领导、人民当家作主和依法治国有机统一;以制度建设为重点,推进社会主义民主政治的制度化、规范化、程序化;积极稳妥地推进政治体制改革。     

破解当前农村“三访”难题的思考

农村是信访案件的源头,是信访工作的重点、难点和关键点。要有效堵住信访的源头,科学应对信访工作的新情况、新问题,基层党委、政府必须提高五种能力,即提高从源头上预防和减少信访问题的能力;提高解决初信初访的能力;提高非正常集体访案件处理能力;提高重大疑难信访和历史遗留问题处置的能力;提高依法规范信访工作行为的能力。同时要细化信访目标管理考核办法,坚决执行信访责任追究制度等措施,只有这样,农村＂三访＂问题才能从根本上得到有效解决。     

Elections and Democracy in Turkey: Reconsidering Competitive Authoritarianism in the Age of Democratic Backsliding

This article reflects on the reasons why Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) could still win in the recent 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey despite, among other daunting issues, the deep economic crisis and their unsuccessful handling of the February 2023 earthquake. The article discusses the role of state apparatus and the media under a neopatrimonial system, as well as the role of the EU, which turned Turkey into a rentier state with the refugee deals. The discussion considers whether Turkey could still be seen as a competitive authoritarian regime and points to the difficulties in determining whether regimes such as the Turkish one are competitive authoritarian or not until the election results are seen and the opposition candidates actually win.