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A Comparative Analysis of Political Confidence in the BRICS Countries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2014

PENG LU
PENG LU*
Affiliation:
Institute of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciencespenglu.cass@gmail.com, lv-peng@cass.org.cn
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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe and analyze people's confidence in political institutions in the so-called BRICS countries, that is, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. I argue that the quality of macroeconomic indicators cannot explain the variation in political confidence between the five most dynamic new emerging economies, and that there is no substantial difference among the young, middle-aged, and senior-aged groups. By combing data from the Asia Barometer Survey and the World Value Survey, I provide two complementary approaches, one sociocultural and the other micropolitical, to reveal the factors that influence people's confidence in four major political institutions. The explanatory effects of these two approaches are mixed. Political identity and values, in most cases, have a significant impact on political confidence. On the other hand, high levels of interpersonal social trust, individual happiness, and satisfaction with living standards also show positive influences.

Type
Research Article
Information
Japanese Journal of Political Science , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , September 2014 , pp. 417 - 441
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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