Trust and Distrust in Political Institutions

Conceptual and theoretical reassessments

Abstract

The analysis of trust in political institutions is rich in insights, but constrained by two conceptual limitations critically discussed in this paper. Research privileges trust and marginalises distrust, thus providing an incomplete and flawed picture; and it focuses on trust dispositions, thus disconnecting institutional trust from what it is, a relational concept. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, this paper proposes a dual conceptualisation that treats trust and distrust as separate but interrelated concepts. An institutionalist approach is used to expose that trust and distrust are part of institutionalised relations, operating at the individual and collective levels, and involving reciprocities and complementarities.