近年來西方興起的「批判性公民」概念為大眾政治不信任帶來新的理論意涵。本文以2012年總統大選後的全國性面訪調查(TEDS)資料為基礎,檢驗「批判性公民」解釋於台灣民眾政治信任的適用性。分析結果顯示,民主態度為「民主批評者」的政治信任的確顯著低於「民主滿意者」與「民主順從者」,其與「民主離異者」皆傾向較不信任執政當局。民主態度與政治信任的穩定關聯性,顯示考量「批判性公民」因素將能為台灣民眾政治信任開創新的解釋來源。此外,透過不同理論途徑的引導,本文發現民主態度對政治信任的解釋與省籍、政黨認同等社會心理因素相似,屬較為長期、穩定的來源,這表示批判性公民的理論概念應得以適用於台灣政治脈絡。以此,考量批判性公民解釋對理解台灣民眾政治信任有根本的重要性。
It is recently that the idea of 'Critical Citizens' has brought political distrust additional theoretical implications that differ from conventional wisdom. This article tests whether the 'Critical Citizens' explanation is compatible for political trust in Taiwan, by examining the TEDS survey data conducted after the 2012 presidential election. The results show that, first of all, 'democratic critics' have a considerably lower level of political trust than people who are categorized as 'democratic satisfaction' and 'democratic subjects', and both of 'democratic critics' and 'democratic alienators' tend to distrust the political authority. The robust effect of democratic attitudes on political trust means that the idea of 'Critical Citizens' can provide a new explanation for political trust in Taiwan. Second, this article also reveals that the factor of critical citizens, similar with socio-psychological variables, can be identified as the long-term and accumulated origins of political trust, meaning the idea applicable to Taiwan's political context. Accordingly, taking the 'Critical Citizens' explanation into account should be substantially important for understanding political trust in Taiwan.