Slow pace of democratisation may anger China's public

Outlook

What matters for political stability is not whether China’s political system is democratic by Western definitions, but whether its own people see it as such. They largely do -- and most have faith that it will soon become roughly as democratic as the United States. Even if this perception is due to propaganda rather than informed judgement, it can still be a powerful source of state legitimacy.

However, there are worrying trends: the data suggest that the pace of democratisation has not matched expectations; if this keeps happening, the public could lose patience -- particularly given that, under President Xi Jinping, repression seems to have worsened again.

Impacts

• Even amid unsatisfactory conditions, people will support a government that they believe will make (or let) those conditions improve.
• Chinese people tend to define democracy in terms of good governance rather than specific procedures or institutions.
• The violence and chaos of the Mao years provide a flattering reference point against which people judge the current political system.