Television is an overlooked tool of state building. We estimate the impact of televising criminal proceedings on public use of government courts to resolve disputes. We draw on survey data from Afghanistan, where the government used television as a mechanism for enhancing the legitimacy of formal legal institutions during an ongoing conflict. We find consistent evidence of enhanced support for government courts among survey respondents who trust television following the nation’s first televised criminal trial. We find no evidence that public confidence in other government functions (e.g. economy, development, corruption) improved during this period. Our findings suggest that television may provide a means of building state legitimacy during war and other contexts of competition between political authorities.

中文翻译：

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战争期间的电视正义

电视是一个被忽视的国家建设工具。我们估计了电视转播刑事诉讼对公众使用政府法院解决纠纷的影响。我们借鉴了阿富汗的调查数据，阿富汗政府利用电视作为一种机制，在持续的冲突中加强正式法律机构的合法性。我们发现一致的证据表明，在全国首次电视刑事审判后信任电视的调查受访者对政府法院的支持得到了加强。我们没有发现任何证据表明在此期间公众对其他政府职能（例如经济、发展、腐败）的信心有所提高。我们的研究结果表明，电视可能会在战争和其他政治当局之间的竞争环境中提供一种建立国家合法性的手段。