China's Age Cohorts: Differences in Political Attitudes and Behavior*

ObjectiveThe main objective of this article is to explore whether age seems to affect political attitudes and behavior in authoritarian China and, if so, whether generation seems to matter, in addition to age itself, in driving differences among age cohorts. MethodsThe primary analytical method of identifying perturbations (Watts, 1999) focuses on determining deviations from what are considered to be established Western democratic baselines for various age-behavior/attitude relationships, drawing upon regime type and generational differences as primary factors in explaining the deviations. Results and ConclusionAmong all of the results, the most consistent pattern and conclusion is that of a One Child generation that is markedly different from its predecessors, and not just due to youthfulness.