External Efficacy and Political Participation Revisited: The Role of Perceived Output Structures for State- and Non-State-Oriented Action Forms

Abstract

Numerous studies have stressed the role of citizens' perceptions of the state's responsiveness to explain political participation. However, in doing so, they have mainly focused on citizens' perceptions of the state's willingness to respond. In contrast, how political participation is affected by citizens' perceptions of the state's ability to respond remains empirically overlooked—despite wide theoretical support. This article aims to address this gap in the literature using data from the 2014 PARTIREP Belgian election survey (N = 2019). In line with the hypotheses, mediation analyses confirm that the state's perceived ability to respond indirectly increases state-oriented political participation, while non-state oriented political participation is unaffected.