The Effect of Bureaucratic Encounters on Modes of Political Participation

Abstract

Multiple studies have identified bureaucratic encounters as an important determinant of political participation. By providing first-hand experiences with government, encounters with public agencies serve as critical sites of political learning through which an individual’s government orientations and participation patterns are shaped. Existing studies, however, have primarily focused on voting behavior in liberal democratic countries, overlooking different modes of political participation and the unique context of hegemonic party systems. In an attempt to fill this gap, this study examines if citizens’ bureaucratic encounters affect their modes of political participation within the hegemonic party system of Singapore. Through a sample survey, this study finds that individuals who experience more negative bureaucratic encounters are more likely to engage in extra-institutional participation (e.g. protests, boycotts, petitions) while those with more positive encounters have a greater chance of participating via institutional channels (e.g. government feedback exercises, Meet-the-People sessions). These effects, however, are asymmetric. Negative bureaucratic encounters are found to have a far greater effect in pushing people beyond the norm of political inactivity than positive ones. This has significant implications for hegemonic party systems like Singapore’s, suggesting that the maintenance of a subdued and acquiescent political environment depends on minimizing negative bureaucratic performance and maximizing positive bureaucratic performance.