Popular conceptions of democracy and democratic satisfaction in China

Evaluating attitudes to democracy in an authoritarian political system is complex. Several surveys suggest that the majority of Chinese people feel satisfied with the level of democracy in China. In explaining this intellectual puzzle, this study addresses how different understandings of democracy influence satisfaction with the state of democracy. This study also investigates the relationships between liberal democratic values and popular conceptions of democracy, and between liberal democratic values and satisfaction with democracy. The results show that Chinese citizens who view elections and political rights as essential to democracy are dissatisfied with the current state of democracy. People who hold liberal democratic values are also dissatisfied with the current state of democracy. In other words, popular conceptions of democracy make a difference in the people’s satisfaction with the democratic level in China. With a rise in the population adhering to procedural conceptions of democracy, satisfaction with the level of democracy in China may decline in the future