Power and Confidence

Abstract This paper, utilising data from the World Values Survey, presents a pioneering examination of citizens’ confidence in political parties in mainland China spanning a twenty-eight-year period, juxtaposed with global counterparts. The analysis unveils a consistent strengthening of confidence among mainland Chinese citizens in political parties, essentially the Chinese Communist Party, from 1990 to 2018, with a marginal decline around 2012. This heightened confidence secures a noteworthy second-place ranking globally. It exhibits a positive correlation with confidence in government, parliament, civil service, armed forces, police, courts, and the press. Additionally, it aligns positively with perceptions of politics as important in life, national pride, age, trust in people of different religions, willingness to have neighbours of different races, and a sense of a secure neighbourhood. Conversely, it demonstrates a negative association with postmaterialism, educational attainment, support for greater income differences as incentives for economic development, and reliance on TV news for understanding current events.