Trust is personal and professional

The role of trust in the rise and fall of a South African civil society coalition

Bibliographic Data

ID9944434
AuthorsLaurence Piper (0000-0002-0061-0736, corresponding author), Fiona Anciano (0000-0002-8613-1452), Babongile Bidla (University of the Western Cape)
Year2024
Volume65
Issue4
Pages464-478
Publication date2024-08-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Comparative Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-7152 • E-ISSN: 1568-5187
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00207152231204988
OpenAlexW4388106567
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited7

This article explores trust dynamics among a coalition of civil society organizations called Unite Behind that formed in Cape Town, South Africa, in late 2017. Unite Behind was established to demand more accountability from a state marred by corruption—and specifically for the resignation of then President Jacob Zuma. When Zuma resigned, the coalition attempted to transition to a social movement campaigning for social justice but declined as a coalition into an organization of sorts. Taking trust as a positive belief in the reliability, truth or ability of an actor or entity, this article argues that conceptions of political and social/generalized trust are of less importance in explaining the rise and fall of Unite Behind than a combination of personal trust in particular leaders, and a form of particularized trust, namely, trust in other organizations. This notion of organizational trust as a form of particularized trust is of potential wider importance to the analysis of civil society network co-ordination

Accountability · Blind trust · Civil society · Economic Justice · Language change · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social capital · Social trust · Sociology · State (computer science · Law · Public Administration · Social Capital and Networks

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