Who Is Willing to Participate in Local Governance? Modernization of Shared Governance in China

Abstract

Citizens’ willingness to participate serves as the endogenous driver of shared governance. During governance modernization in China, shared governance was extensively promoted through various policy agendas. However, few studies have revealed citizens’ attitude toward shared governance in China, which leads to a question: Who is willing to participate in local governance? Based on a large-scale survey in China, this study revealed a high proportion of respondents willing to participate in local governance with certain regional differences, and the willingness was significantly affected by respondents’ age, educational level, CPC membership, and income level. The findings help to identify and incentivize those unwilling to participate in local governance. This study has important implications for the modernization of shared governance both nationally and internationally, and helps enrich the experiences of democratic sustainability beyond the Western context.