How To Tell What Political Processes People Want? Measuring Citizens’ Process Preferences in Surveys

Abstract

This paper focuses on the operationalization of citizens’ preferences concerning how political decisions should be made. Recent research suggests that process preferences are a relevant predictor of the level of confidence citizens have in political institutions. However, there is no standardized scale for the measurement of such preferences. Hence, the aim of this paper is to present the development and validation of a multi-dimensional scale measuring citizens’ preferences concerning political decision-making processes. Based on existing research, a theoretical derived model with three dimensions and 16 indicators is tested. Those items were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in structural equation modeling (SEM) and validated on another independent sample. The results indicate that process preferences consist of three factors: consensus-orientation, competition, and the efficiency of political decision-making processes. Moreover, further studies confirmed the cultural equivalence of the scale and its invariance as regards two different objects of assessment (parliament, government).