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political trust

July 21, 2023

How income inequality threatens democracy

Simon Bienstman Income inequality threatens democracy by depressing trust in political institutions. To better understand why, Simon Bienstman, Svenja Hense, and Markus Gangl argue that we should pay attention to inequality’s negative effect on citizens’ evaluations of the democratic process Read more
June 13, 2023

🔮 The myth of the typical far-right populist voter

Daphne Halikiopoulou Daphne Halikiopoulou and Sofia Vasilopoulou highlight the multifaceted nature of the far-right populist appeal to voters with different preferences and incentives. The far right struggles to expand its appeal to those who evaluate the democratic process positively, but its rhetoric intensifies support among some segments of its core electorate Read more
October 6, 2022

Military conscription is no antidote to the political apathy of new generations

Marco Giani Studying long-run patterns of public opinion in Europe shows that reintroducing compulsory national service would not counter the worrisome trend of declining trust in institutions among young generations. In fact, warns Marco Giani, the effect could be quite the opposite Read more
April 27, 2022

Coronavirus restrictions: fear is no substitute for trust

Ben Seyd Can policymakers expect people to comply with official health restrictions out of fear rather than because they trust the government? Ben Seyd suggests the answer is no. Governments still need trust to motivate citizens to comply with important collective rules. Read more
March 22, 2022

Can political trust be rebuilt?

Viktor Orri Valgarðsson Citizens across the world appear to be losing faith in politics and governments’ ability to solve society’s problems, but can their faith be reclaimed? Viktor Orri Valgarðsson suggests that what may be needed is a new trust settlement – one of critical trust, which must be earned Read more
February 28, 2022

The fragility of democratic freedoms in the Covid-19 pandemic

Pavlos Vasilopoulos In research monitoring public attitudes during the Covid-19 pandemic, Pavlos Vasilopoulos, Haley McAvay, Sylvain Brouard, and Martial Foucault found that public commitment to civil liberties is highly volatile, especially when fear prevails. This, they argue, should worry proponents of democracy Restriction of civil liberties under Covid The Covid-19 pandemic brought unprecedented restrictions to civil liberties […] Read more
September 1, 2021

Tunisia’s democracy is under challenge, but not under threat

Hager Ali Over recent weeks, Western pundits have been quick to claim recent events in Tunisia are evidence of a ‘failed democracy experiment’. But Hager Ali and Ameni Mehrez argue that the protests are more a testament to democratic resilience than failure Read more
June 21, 2021

When democratic experience distorts democracy

Kristian Vrede Skaaning Frederiksen Citizens of young democracies sanction governments for violating democratic principles. However, as Kristian Vrede Skaaning Frederiksen finds, in new research based on data from 43 countries, citizens of old democracies do not. Given recent attacks on democracy across the world, the insights are important for policymakers as well as citizens Read more

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THE EUROPEAN CONSORTIUM FOR POLITICAL RESEARCH
Advancing Political Science
© 2023 European Consortium for Political Research. The ECPR is a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) number 1167403 ECPR, Harbour House, 6-8 Hythe Quay, Colchester, CO2 8JF, United Kingdom.
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