Between Trust and Blame: Citizen Perceptions of Street‐Level Bureaucrats During the Pandemic
通过调查中国公民，用Q方法识别出疫情期间公民对街头官僚的三种看法：自我保护执行者、公众保护者和责任逃避者，并发现不同看法影响问责期望和公民自身角色认知。
ABSTRACT Policy implementation studies have focused on encounters between street‐level bureaucrats and citizens. However, insufficient research has explored how citizens experience such encounters, especially during crises. To address the research gap, this study investigated citizens' perspectives on the roles of street‐level bureaucrats during the pandemic. Using a survey of Chinese citizens and employing Q methodology, we identified three distinct profiles: self‐preserving implementers, public protectors, and responsibility dodgers, which are different in their motivations and behaviors. We also found that citizens with varying perceptions of street‐level bureaucrats' roles have different expectations for forms of accountability and differing views on their own roles in policy implementation. The findings suggest practitioners should incorporate citizens' perspectives to make crisis policy implementation more effective.