Group identification and political trust: A study on the influence and action mechanism of village leadership on farmers’ participation in public affairs

Farmers are the backbone of rural societies, increasing their participation in public affairs is crucial for effective rural governance. Leadership is key to the success of community collective actions, with village leaders acting as essential agents in mobilizing residents. Using field survey data from 2023, this study empirically examines how village leadership influences farmers' participation in public affairs and the mechanisms behind it. The results show that: (1) Enhancing village leadership has a positive effect on motivating farmers to participate in village public affairs; (2) Mechanism analysis indicates that village leadership can promote farmers' participation in public affairs by strengthening their group identification and political trust; (3) The positive influence of village leadership is more pronounced in villages with collective industries and incentive systems but is weakened in contexts where strong clan networks or high levels of bureaucratic “administrativization” exist. This study proposes an improved analytical framework for analyzing how village leadership affects farmers’ participation in public affairs, considering community group identity and trust in village leaders as underlying mechanisms. It also enriches the empirical literature on village leadership within the field of rural governance.