ABSTRACT

There is global concern over the continuing decline in political participation, especially among young people. Social capital or networks of relations among people have been found to be important in the revival of political participation. While research has established the profound effects of online social capital on politics, we know much less about its role in fostering political participation in new democracies. In this study, we tested the influence of online social capital on communication mediation processes to understand political participation in Pakistan. A survey was conducted of 864 respondents, recruited using a multistage cluster sampling, and the survey data were analyzed using PLS-SEM. Our findings suggest that extensive online networks result in less participation in online political activities, whereas no effect was found on youth political behavior in the real setting. We also found that social capital does not motivate people to express their opinions in the online environment. These results suggest that the political consequences of online social capital are different in a less democratic setting from in a Western-democratic context. There may be less political trust in the former, which discourages people from participating in politics. This paper discusses some of the theoretical and managerial implications of the study.

摘要

全球关注政治参与度持续下降，尤其是在年轻人中。人们发现社会资本或人与人之间的关系网络对于政治参与的复兴很重要。虽然研究已经确定了在线社会资本对政治的深远影响，但我们对其在促进新民主国家政治参与方面的作用知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们测试了在线社会资本对沟通调解过程的影响，以了解巴基斯坦的政治参与。对 864 名受访者进行了调查，使用多阶段整群抽样招募，并使用 PLS-SEM 分析调查数据。我们的研究结果表明，广泛的在线网络导致较少参与在线政治活动，而在真实环境中没有发现对青年政治行为的影响。我们还发现，社会资本不会激励人们在网络环境中表达自己的观点。这些结果表明，在线社会资本的政治后果在不那么民主的环境中与在西方民主的环境中是不同的。对前者的政治信任可能较少，这会阻碍人们参与政治。本文讨论了该研究的一些理论和管理意义。对前者的政治信任可能较少，这会阻碍人们参与政治。本文讨论了该研究的一些理论和管理意义。对前者的政治信任可能较少，这会阻碍人们参与政治。本文讨论了该研究的一些理论和管理意义。