What makes people trust or distrust politicians? Insights from open-ended survey questions

Dados Bibliográficos

ID6407322
AutoresMarte Winsvold (0000-0002-6096-0594, Institute for Social Research, Oslo, Norway, autor correspondente), Atle Haugsgjerd (0000-0002-7647-5817, Institute for Social Research, Oslo, Norway), Jo Saglie (0000-0003-0437-2103, Institute for Social Research, Oslo, Norway), Signe Bock Segaard (0000-0003-0010-4910, Institute for Social Research, Oslo, Norway)
Ano2024
Volume47
Fascículo4
Páginas759-783
Data de publicação2024-06-06
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoWest European Politics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0140-2382 • E-ISSN: 1743-9655
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01402382.2023.2268459
OpenAlexW4388220910
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas10
Referências citadas41

High political trust is often interpreted as a sign of good democratic health, and widespread distrust as a sign of democratic ill health. However, there is little knowledge about the basis on which people make assessments about whether to trust or distrust political actors. This article develops and applies a typology for political trust judgement. Through a content analysis of 1,105 open-ended survey questions about political trust and distrust, the study finds that people tend to assess (dis)trust of politicians based on whether they see the politicians as predictable, intrinsically committed, competent and responsive. Moreover, the study finds that citizens use different judgement bases to describe trust and distrust, suggesting that the two concepts are not pure negations of each other. While predictability is the most frequently reported basis for trusting politicians, a lack of intrinsic commitment is the most frequently reported basis for distrusting politicians. This article discusses the reasons for and implications of the apparently different bases for weighing judgements on trust and distrust

Democracy · Distrust · Judgement · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sign (mathematics · Sociology · Typology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Capital and Networks · Social Psychology