Governing in an Age of Distrust

A Comparative Study of Politicians' Trust Perceptions and Why They Matter

Author: Dr James Weinberg

Governing in an Age of Distrust tackles this important gap head on by asking not only whether the public trusts in politicians, but also whether politicians accurately perceive and act upon the trust placed in them.

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Summary

Description

Despite the existence of a large literature on themes relating to trust and distrust in politics, there has been no sustained research that directly engages with the primary objects of trust: politicians. This is an intriguing blind spot in political science that leaves us without any understanding of how politicians appraise a contemporary climate of extreme or generalised distrust or indeed how the existence of a low-trust/high-blame environment affects theirdecision-making and the quality of public governance. Governing in an Age of Distrust tackles this important gap head on by asking not only whether the public trusts in politicians,but also whether politicians accurately perceive and act upon the trust placed in them. In doing so, Weinberg draws on unique survey and interview data gathered from nationally and locally elected politicians in different countries that have faced a crisis of political trust in recent decades - principally the United Kingdom, Canada, and South Africa. The work identifies different types of 'political trustees' and subsequently analyses the relationship between perceptions of trust and avariety of outcomes such as politicians' blame avoidance behaviour and personal wellbeing. Taking a new and innovative approach to research on trust and elite political behaviour, the author tacklesquestions that are arguably of paramount importance if we are to understand when, why, and how politicians do or do not deliver on the promise of democracy.

Critic Reviews

In this book, Weinberg turns the field of comparative political trust research completely on its head by shifting the common scholarly perspective from citizens to politicians' perceptions of whether or not they're trusted, thereby opening up astounding new insights and research avenues. Having gained personal access to elected officials in three countries, and clearly their trust, all interested readers will be richly rewarded by Weinberg's methodological expertise in data collection and triangulation combined with his academic courage, rigour, and modesty in taking the lead in a henceforth overlooked realm of research. Professor Sonja Zmerli, Professor of Political Science at Sciences Po Grenoble

About the Author

Dr James Weinberg is an academic in the Department of Politics at the University of Sheffield with an international reputation for publishing rigorous research on specialist topics in the field of political behaviour. He has held grants from a range of funding bodies such as the ESRC, Leverhulme Trust, and Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, and he routinely gives guest lectures and media interviews about his research. In 2022, the Apolitical Foundation named him on aglobal list of '50 influential researchers whose work might help to shape 21st century politicians'.