The association between delegative democratic attitudes and perceptions of China in Thailand from the Asian Barometer Survey

Abstract

Utilizing nationally representative data from four waves of the Asian Barometer Survey (2010–2022), this study investigates whether delegative democratic orientations shape public perceptions of China's role in Thailand and Asia more broadly. Ordered probit regression shows that support for executive supremacy and anti-oversight beliefs increases the likelihood of favorable views regarding China at both national and regional levels. Constrained accountability, another dimension of delegative attitudes, has no significant effect. Regarding the control variables, media exposure correlates with diminished approval, and urban residency is predictive of less favorable views. The findings suggest that domestic political orientations, rooted in national experiences with authority, influence how citizens assess foreign regimes. When external governance models align with internalized norms, symbolic recognition follows. The study advances legitimacy theory and regime diffusion research by identifying how cognitive convergence enables the transnational appeal of performance-based authoritarianism.