| ID | 138859 |
| Title Proper | Scandals, media and good governance in China and Kenya |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Hassid, Jonathan ; Brass, Jennifer N |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Conventional wisdom holds that democratic governments listen to their populations, while authoritarian governments do not. This paper questions the extent to which this dynamic applies in cases of government scandals, using the illustrative cases of China and Kenya. We expect democratic countries with free media to be responsive and authoritarian states to ignore public pressure. Counter to this expectation, however, authoritarian China is more responsive to public pressure to clean up scandals than democratic Kenya. Using case studies and quantitative analysis, we argue that while democracy and free media are important for government responsiveness to scandal, they are neither necessary nor sufficient conditions. We assert that political will, state capacity to respond and high public expectations for state action are also necessary. |
| `In' analytical Note | Journal of Asian and African Studies Vol. 50, No.3; Jun 2015: p.325-342 |
| Journal Source | Journal of Asian and African Studies 2015-06 50, 3 |
| Key Words | China ; Kenya ; Governance ; State capacity ; Political Will ; Scandal ; Regime Type ; Public Expectations |