تحلیل رابطه میان کنش سیاسی آنلاین با نگرانی شهروندان از تهدیدات امنیتی ازطریق میانجیگری اعتماد نهادی (مقاله علمی وزارت علوم)
درجه علمی: نشریه علمی (وزارت علوم)
آرشیو
چکیده
این پژوهش رابطه میان کنش سیاسی آنلاین و نگرانی شهروندان ایرانی را از تهدیدات امنیتی با تأکید بر نقش میانجی اعتماد نهادی بررسی می کند. با استفاده از داده های موج هفتم پیمایش ارزش های جهانی و روش تحلیل ثانویه، مدل مفهومی پژوهش با بهره گیری از مدل سازی حداقل مربعات جزئی و نرم افزار اسمارت پی.ال.اس آزمون شد. یافته ها نشان می دهند که کنش سیاسی آنلاین به طور مستقیم با کاهش اعتماد نهادها و افزایش نگرانی از تهدیدات امنیتی مرتبط است. همچنین، اعتماد به نهادهای سیاسی و امنیتی به عنوان متغیر میانجی، تأثیر کنش های آنلاین را بر نگرانی های امنیتی تعدیل می کند. نتایج با نظریه حباب های فیلتر و مفاهیم مرتبط مانند اتاق های پژواک و پروپاگاندای رایانشی همخوانی دارد که نشان دهنده نقش الگوریتم های شبکه های اجتماعی در تقویت بی اعتمادی و اضطراب امنیتی است. این پژوهش بر ضرورت سیاست گذاری های دیجیتال برای افزایش شفافیت الگوریتم ها، تقویت سواد دیجیتال و بازسازی اعتماد نهادی تأکید دارد تا اثرات منفی کنش های آنلاین بر انسجام اجتماعی و امنیت ملی کاهش یابد.Analyzing the Mediating Role of Institutional Trust in the Relationship between Online Political Engagement and Citizens’ Security Threat Perceptions
IntroductionThe degree to which citizens feel secure—or insecure—profoundly influences societal dynamics, political stability, and effectiveness of governmental institutions. Often, these feelings are shaped more by personal impressions than by objective facts. In recent years, online political activities, including digital protests and information campaigns, have increasingly impacted how citizens perceive security. By facilitating rapid political organizing and information dissemination (sometimes inaccurately), social media platforms have become breeding grounds for narratives surrounding security. These narratives can heighten public anxiety, deepen societal divisions, and erode trust in institutions. Both local and foreign actors utilize digital tools to sway public opinion and exacerbate feelings of insecurity. In Iran, where traditional media are frequently restricted, social networks play a significantly larger role in shaping citizens’ perceptions. Online political actions not only ignite social movements, but also intensify security concerns, leading to stricter government policies. This study examined the impact of online political activities in Iran on citizens’ perceptions of security threats, aiming to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this process. Specifically, it explored how these digital actions shaped citizens’ views on security and how trust in public institutions influenced these effects. Materials & MethodsThis study examined the relationship between online political participation and concerns about security threats, focusing on the potential mediating role of political distrust. We utilized data from Iranian respondents in the seventh wave of the World Values Survey (Haerpfer et al., 2020). A combination of descriptive and inferential statistical methods was employed to analyze the data. The descriptive analysis outlined the demographic characteristics and identified the main statistical patterns of the investigated variables. For the inferential analysis, we employed Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using Smart PLS software to explore the relationships between variables and assess the role of political distrust as a mediator. SmartPLS was chosen for its suitability to the exploratory nature of our conceptual model, its alignment with the unique characteristics of our dataset, and its support for the study’s analytical goals. Given that we were venturing into relatively uncharted territory—combining concepts, such as online political behavior, institutional trust, and security threats, where direct research was still limited—PLS-SEM proved to be a more appropriate choice than traditional covariance-based methods. Additionally, since we were working with secondary data, some variables did not follow a normal distribution, making SmartPLS a robust and justifiable option for this analysis. Discussion of Results & ConclusionThis study demonstrated that online political engagement in Iran was linked to a decline in trust toward political and security institutions accompanied by increased concerns about security threats. The relationships between online political engagement, institutional trust, and security concerns could be understood through concepts, such as filter bubbles, echo chambers, and computational propaganda. When citizens participated in online politics, social media often amplified critical and emotionally charged content, which eroded trust in institutions while heightening feelings of insecurity and social unease. In contexts like Iran, where access to traditional media was restricted, online platforms serve as the primary source of information. The findings align with previous research showing how social media fosters distrust and political polarization; however, this study was unique in directly investigating how online political actions exacerbated security concerns. While institutional trust did play a mediating role in this dynamic—and the effect was statistically significant—its influence was relatively weak and only partially explained the relationship. This might stem from Iran’s unique context, cultural characteristics, or the specific nature of political activism within the country. Overall, the findings indicated that in societies with weak digital infrastructures and low social capital, online political participation could unintentionally intensify social and security instability without careful policymaking.
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