Perceived Government Capacity to Manage Migration: A New Concept and The Role of News Media Consumption in the Czech Republic

After the 2015 migration crisis and the 2022 immigration of Ukrainian refugees, the response from the public in the Czech Republic shifted from whether to host migrants to whether the government is capable of handling the wave of immigrants while serving its citizens. However, not all citizens have direct experience with the government’s actions regarding migration, and many only receive information about the issues from the media. Therefore, this thesis, conducted in May and June 2025, examined how various types of media consumption influence Czech citizens’ perceptions of their government’s capacity to manage migration. Specifically, how the frequency of news consumption on public, commercial, and social media influenced said perceptions. Moreover, one of the key aspects of this study was the conceptual and empirical innovation of the concept of perceived government capacity to manage migration. Drawing on Agenda-setting and Framing theory, this study conceptualized media consumption as a multidimensional factor, differentiating between public, commercial, and social media. It was hypothesized that public media consumption, due to its commitment to objective and truthful reporting, would be positively associated with perceived government capacity. In contrast, profit-driven commercial media and unfiltered social media, both prone to sensationalism and echo chambers, were expected to be negatively associated with perceived government capacity. Furthermore, the study tested the moderating role of cosmopolitanism, broadly defined as openness to other cultures. It was hypothesized that cosmopolitanism would strengthen the positive relationship between public media consumption and perceived government capacity and weaken the negative relationship between commercial and social media consumption and perceived government capacity. These hypotheses were formed based on the assumption that individuals with different levels of cosmopolitanism may interpret migration-related information differently. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among Czech citizens residing in either Prague or the Central Bohemian Region, which is located around Prague. Through snowball and convenience sampling strategies, 314 responses were collected. The data was then analyzed through the statistical tool SPSS 30, and correlation and multiple linear regression tests were performed. The results showed a positive and significant relationship between public media consumption and perceived government capacity. However, there were no significant results supporting a negative relationship between commercial media consumption and perceived government capacity, nor social media consumption and perceived government capacity. Regarding the moderator cosmopolitanism, only one test was performed, as only the model with public media consumption was significant. However, the effects of cosmopolitanism as a moderator were also insignificant. The variable cosmopolitanism, by itself, had a positive and significant relationship with perceived government capacity. The results underscore the importance of public media and their obligation to provide truthful and objectively framed information. Overall, this research contributes to the public administration literature on media effects and migration governance by introducing a new conceptualization and measurement of perceived government capacity.