Determinants of Political Participation in Taiwan: From A Viewpoint of Citizenship Norms

Abstract

為什麼民眾參與政治活動？本研究利用2004年及2014年兩波調查資料，探討公民規範認知（即民眾對於「好公民」的想法）如何影響政治參與，並進一步結合其他解釋途徑，分析這十年間民眾政治參與變遷的主因。首先，我們根據Russell Dalton（2008; 2009）的理論，將民眾的公民規範認知區分成兩個構面，包括義務規範認知（duty-based citizenship norms）及參與規範認知（engaged citizenship norms），並探討這兩個規範構面與政治參與行為的連結。我們的發現可以歸納為以下三點：（1）參與規範認知比較會影響個人積極性的政治參與；（2）義務規範認知會影響個人的投票行為；（3）這兩個構面都不會影響一個人是否成為政黨黨員。其次，本文將前述文化價值的分析途徑結合社會結構途徑及心理態度途徑，並利用這三個途徑所建構的影響因素，分析2004年到2014年政治參與的變遷。我們發現：十年間積極性政治參與及政黨參與的改變，主要是因為影響機制產生結構性的變化；而投票參與的改變，主要取決於各個影響因素本身的變化。

Why do citizens participate in politics? This study utilizes two waves of survey datasets in 2004 and 2014, respectively, and focuses on the extent to which citizenship norms (i.e., perceptions of ＂good＂ citizenship) affect political participation. Specifically, this study combines different explanatory approaches and analyzes why political participation has changed over the ten-year period of time. By adopting Dalton`s (2008, 2009) theoretical framework that divides citizenship norms into two dimensions-namely, duty-based citizenship norms and engaged citizenship norms, our findings regarding the linkages between norm perceptions and participation behaviors are threefold: first, the perception of engaged citizenship norms may have a significant impact on active political participation; second, the perception of duty-based citizenship norms may affect voting behavior; and third, neither type of citizenship norm has any impact on affiliation with political parties. Additionally, we further utilize a counterfactual analysis to dissect different components that may have caused the change in political participation from 2004 to 2014. We found that over the period of time, the changes in active participation as well as party affiliation have been mainly affected by structural changes of the linkages between political participation and its determinants. On the other hand, the change in voting behavior is mainly affected by the changes in determinants.