Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Political Trust In Extremis, Antonis A. Ellinas, Iasonas Lamprianou

Antonis A. Ellinas

The literature points out that political trust can have a major impact on democratic politics by affecting political participation, institutional effectiveness and policy choices. Given the significance of political trust for the functioning of democracy, it is important know how the way citizens relate with political actors and institutions changes in times of extraordinary shock. Using Greece as a case and data from successive rounds of the European Social Survey, this article shows that, during times of major distress, the way schools and hospitals are run – the “social” performance of government – has an important effect on political trust. …