Broadening the Scope of Trust: How Different Radii of Trust Influence Political Conflict in China

This study examines the relationship between different radii of trust and political conflict in China. By analyzing the China Family Panel Studies survey (2012-2018) with lagged trust measures, we employ instrumental variable and causal mediation approaches to find that the effects of social trust on political conflict vary with the radius of trust, mediated by experiences of unfair political treatment. Individuals with high levels of specific and generalized trust were less likely to encounter unfair political treatment and therefore less likely to experience conflict with officials. In contrast, those with higher levels of trust in Americans were more likely to experience unfair political treatment, which increased their likelihood of political conflict. Our findings suggest that the conventional notions of the radius of trust need to be expanded to incorporate distinctions between trust in fellow nationals and trust in non-nationals. By examining how the scope of generalized trust can be broadened through an understanding of Chinese traditional culture, our study offers insights into how a radius-sensitive understanding of trust shapes political conflict propensity in China.