Generating Regime Support in Contemporary China: Legitimation and the Local Legitimacy Deficit

Autocrats may try to generate regime support in order to remain in power, but do they get the results they intend? This article analyzes the causes and consequences of regime support in China. We show two key findings. First, as in previous studies, we find significant differences in levels of support and trust for central and local political institutions, what we refer to as the "local legitimacy deficit." The factors that produce support and trust in the central state have dissimilar impacts on local levels of the state. Second, rising prosperity, normative values, and institutional ties to the state-when analyzed together instead of viewed in isolation-do not influence regime support in the way expected by conventional wisdom. These findings have direct implications for state-society relations in contemporary China and for the sustainability of authoritarian regimes more generally.