Bridging the Gap: A New Approach to Understand Citizen Attitudes and Perceptions Towards the Portuguese Parliament
Bridging the Gap: A New Approach to Understand Citizen Attitudes and Perceptions Towards the Portuguese Parliament
Historically, parliaments have played a crucial role in bridging the gap between citizens and governance. Their key function has been to facilitate discussions, legislate, scrutinize, and build consensus on matters that impact society at large, thereby enhancing the legitimacy of decisions and fostering trust in the political system. In recent years, parliaments have expanded their scope to include communication, education, and public engagement. Despite these efforts, public criticism persists. The advent of digital technologies and social media has revolutionized the media landscape, subjecting central democratic institutions to unprecedented media exposure and relentless public scrutiny. This shift has paradoxically made parliaments more accessible to the public via various channels, setting them apart from other political entities like governments, while also heightening their susceptibility to criticism, increased scrutiny, and elevated expectations from citizens. The heightened visibility and scrutiny of parliamentary activities, operations, and MPs' behavior underscore the complex challenges inherent in modern democratic governance (Leston- Bandeira, 2016; Hendricks et al., 2020).
This research proposal aims to dissect and understand this paradox in the context of Portugal. In an era where thorough political scrutiny is crucial for addressing democratic deficits, this research will uncover the relationships between parliaments, politicians and people in Portugal. This is especially relevant, as in many representative democracies, the relationship between politicians and citizens in Portugal is marked by significant turmoil, with uncivil behavior in parliament frequently making news headlines.
The issue of citizens' dissatisfaction and apathy toward democratic institutions has been a topic of widespread debate for nearly since the beginning of Portuguese democracy, which is approaching its 50th year. Despite being perceived as unpopular, the Assembleia da República (AR) interestingly holds more public trust than political parties or the government, but lags behind other European democracies in trust levels. Research on the Portuguese people's relationship with the AR, such as studies by Leston-Bandeira (2003), Magalhães (2003), Belchior (2016), and Veiga et al. (2023), has mainly focused on trust and satisfaction. However, the citizen-AR relationship is more complex, involving a broader range of interactions and perceptions that go beyond trust and satisfaction.
The BRIDGE project aims to address these gaps by exploring the complex and multifaceted nature of citizens' political attitudes towards the AR. It seeks to understand the nuanced perceptions and attitudes of Portuguese citizens, offering insights into the mechanisms shaping these views, and developing new observational measures for such endevours. Despite its central role in the political system, there is a significant lack of understanding concerning the views, beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes of the Portuguese people toward their parliament and politicians. Without exploring these subtleties, our comprehension of the citizen-parliament dynamic in Portugal remains shallow.
BRIDGE adopts a unique two-phase mixed-method approach to delve into Portuguese citizens' perceptions and engagements with the Assembly of the Republic (AR), focusing on trust, satisfaction, knowledge, and engagement. Initially, we conduct exploratory focus groups to understand how citizens form opinions and perceptions, exploring trust, dissatisfaction, and alienation towards the parliament. These sessions illuminate underlying beliefs and practices, enhancing our understanding of the dynamics between citizens and parliament. Insights from these focus groups will then guide the development of a sophisticated survey instrument, by refining questions, answers, scales, and terminology to accurately reflect the topic's complexity accurately. In the second phase, we will implement the survey among a representative sample of Portuguese adults, collecting comprehensive data on individual perceptions and attitudes, incorporating both traditional and innovative observational measures. This phase also explores the impact of incivility in parliamentary discourse on public attitudes, through an experimental component, thereby enriching our analysis and aiding future research.
This research design, supported by a team of political scientists, social psychologists, and anthropologists, aims to significantly enhance our knowledge of parliament-citizen relationships, potentially extending insights beyond Portugal. It goes beyond the narrow confines of previous studies, establishing a foundation for future research, collaborative endeavors, and practical initiatives within the AR. This approach could substantially improve democratic governance and cultivate a more active engagement between the parliament and the Portuguese people.
Parliament; Citizens; Attitudes; Perceptions
Historically, parliaments have played a crucial role in bridging the gap between citizens and governance. Their key function has been to facilitate discussions, legislate, scrutinize, and build consensus on matters that impact society at large, thereby enhancing the legitimacy of decisions and fostering trust in the political system. In recent years, parliaments have expanded their scope to include communication, education, and public engagement. Despite these efforts, public criticism persists. The advent of digital technologies and social media has revolutionized the media landscape, subjecting central democratic institutions to unprecedented media exposure and relentless public scrutiny. This shift has paradoxically made parliaments more accessible to the public via various channels, setting them apart from other political entities like governments, while also heightening their susceptibility to criticism, increased scrutiny, and elevated expectations from citizens. The heightened visibility and scrutiny of parliamentary activities, operations, and MPs' behavior underscore the complex challenges inherent in modern democratic governance (Leston- Bandeira, 2016; Hendricks et al., 2020).
This research proposal aims to dissect and understand this paradox in the context of Portugal. In an era where thorough political scrutiny is crucial for addressing democratic deficits, this research will uncover the relationships between parliaments, politicians and people in Portugal. This is especially relevant, as in many representative democracies, the relationship between politicians and citizens in Portugal is marked by significant turmoil, with uncivil behavior in parliament frequently making news headlines.
The issue of citizens' dissatisfaction and apathy toward democratic institutions has been a topic of widespread debate for nearly since the beginning of Portuguese democracy, which is approaching its 50th year. Despite being perceived as unpopular, the Assembleia da República (AR) interestingly holds more public trust than political parties or the government, but lags behind other European democracies in trust levels. Research on the Portuguese people's relationship with the AR, such as studies by Leston-Bandeira (2003), Magalhães (2003), Belchior (2016), and Veiga et al. (2023), has mainly focused on trust and satisfaction. However, the citizen-AR relationship is more complex, involving a broader range of interactions and perceptions that go beyond trust and satisfaction.
The BRIDGE project aims to address these gaps by exploring the complex and multifaceted nature of citizens' political attitudes towards the AR. It seeks to understand the nuanced perceptions and attitudes of Portuguese citizens, offering insights into the mechanisms shaping these views, and developing new observational measures for such endevours. Despite its central role in the political system, there is a significant lack of understanding concerning the views, beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes of the Portuguese people toward their parliament and politicians. Without exploring these subtleties, our comprehension of the citizen-parliament dynamic in Portugal remains shallow.
BRIDGE adopts a unique two-phase mixed-method approach to delve into Portuguese citizens' perceptions and engagements with the Assembly of the Republic (AR), focusing on trust, satisfaction, knowledge, and engagement. Initially, we conduct exploratory focus groups to understand how citizens form opinions and perceptions, exploring trust, dissatisfaction, and alienation towards the parliament. These sessions illuminate underlying beliefs and practices, enhancing our understanding of the dynamics between citizens and parliament. Insights from these focus groups will then guide the development of a sophisticated survey instrument, by refining questions, answers, scales, and terminology to accurately reflect the topic's complexity accurately. In the second phase, we will implement the survey among a representative sample of Portuguese adults, collecting comprehensive data on individual perceptions and attitudes, incorporating both traditional and innovative observational measures. This phase also explores the impact of incivility in parliamentary discourse on public attitudes, through an experimental component, thereby enriching our analysis and aiding future research.
This research design, supported by a team of political scientists, social psychologists, and anthropologists, aims to significantly enhance our knowledge of parliament-citizen relationships, potentially extending insights beyond Portugal. It goes beyond the narrow confines of previous studies, establishing a foundation for future research, collaborative endeavors, and practical initiatives within the AR. This approach could substantially improve democratic governance and cultivate a more active engagement between the parliament and the Portuguese people.
