Trust within Europe

This study summarizes the findings of Political Capital’s research on the nature and tendencies of political trust. Trust is a phenomenon with many facets. It is hectic and stable at the same time, depending on geography and the object of trust. While a certain level of trust is inevitable for a well-functioning society, mistrust is also necessary: healthy democracies are based on a fine balance between trust and mistrust. However, the balance seems to have tipped and distrust has become dominant in Europe. As a consequence, we can observe a growing influence of conspiracy theories. Besides the in-depth analysis of these topics, the study also contains recommendations on how to build and strengthen trust.

The results of the research were presented at the Vienna Policy Conference in October 2015.

The study can be downloaded from here.