Institutional trust

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Institutional trust determines the degree of trust that the population has in certain institutions .

Institutions are permanent establishments for the regulation, production or implementation of specific purposes. These can be social behavior or norms (e.g. marriage, courtesy), but also institutions (e.g. parliament, parties, trade unions, constitution).

Trust is a "mechanism for reducing social complexity" ( Niklas Luhmann ). Because trust in a person or an institution only makes it possible to act under conditions of uncertainty and incomplete information. The lack of trust leads to a standstill.

Significance of trust in institutions

The higher the trust in institutions, the more support the prevailing social order generally enjoys. Institutional trust is therefore a yardstick for the stability of a political system .

The members of this system transfer responsibility and control over resources , actions and events to institutions . In return, they expect the associated tasks to be fulfilled. The members of a society measure the fulfillment of these tasks against their subjective assessment categories. These can be B. honesty, transparency, competence, orientation towards the common good. If the institutions cannot fulfill the tasks assigned to them, measured against the subjective assessment categories, trust falls and disaffection with politics occurs .

A high level of distrust of certain institutions is not to be equated with distrust of a certain form of government. Although there is generally a negative image of politics in Germany , Austria and Switzerland , this is not to be equated with a general distrust of democracy .

Institutional trust in Germany

In Germany , surveys show a basic trust in democracy . So which is satisfaction with democracy , according to the election poll in 2002 the DVPW about 85%.

Differentiated according to the individual institutions , however, there is a fundamental distrust of interest groups and parties . The judiciary, headed by the Federal Constitutional Court , as well as the police and the armed forces, enjoy a high level of trust . The political institutions of the Bundestag and the Federal Government are at least more trusted than the parties represented in these institutions. These are seen by a majority of the population as institutions that only strive for power and votes, but do not care about the views of voters. But churches , trade unions and employers' associations are also judged negatively.

Institutional trust among young people

It is noticeable that, on the one hand, young people particularly trust institutions that generally stand for post-materialist values ​​(solidarity, freedom, etc.) (Red Cross, Amnesty International, Greenpeace). On the other hand, the police, the judiciary and the armed forces also have a lot of trust; they represent security and order. Similar to the general population, it is also the case for young people that institutions that are associated with party politics tend to have little confidence. Participation-democratic institutions receive little trust (city council, federal government or political parties). Conversely, non-party organizations tend to be seen as trustworthy. Overall, special youth surveys such as the regular youth survey conducted by the German Youth Institute do not show any major differences compared with the trust in institutions of the general population.

Institutional trust in Austria

In Austria , the population largely identifies with democratic principles. Although the majority of the population is largely satisfied with the way democracy works, only a minority has a positive image of politics. Only institutions of the judiciary, the police and authorities are trusted. Political mediating institutions such as parties , government , parliament , but also trade unions , are very mistrustful. The political parties enjoy the least trust.

Institutional trust in Switzerland

In Switzerland , the government is met with a consistently high level of distrust from over 40% of the population. With the possibility of taking part in referendums , the people who distrust the government have an outlet to express this distrust.

Comparison of trust in the European Union - State - Regional Administration

A study by the European Commission from 2008/09 compared trust in different levels of administration. It shows that Germans (in both East and West Germany) trust the authorities at the local and regional level the most. This also applies in 8 further of 29 states or sub-states in Northern and Western Europe , in which trust in local and regional authorities is stronger than that in national or European institutions.

In contrast, in 17, especially newer, EU member states in southern, central and eastern Europe , trust in the European institutions prevails . However, even if the local / regional level does not enjoy the highest level of trust in some countries or if they are more likely to encounter suspicion, the sub-national authorities in almost all EU Member States enjoy greater trust than the respective national governments.

literature

  • Faas, Thorsten (2003): www.wahlumfrage2002.de. Analysis and results. Bamberg contributions to political science. Research focus on political attitudes and behavior (No. II-11, 2003). [1]
  • Gaiser, Wolfgang / Gille, Martina / Krüger, Winfried / de Riijke, Johann (2000): Political disaffection in East and West? Attitudes of adolescents and young adults. In: From Politics and Contemporary History , B19-20 / 2000, pp. 12–22. [2]
  • gfs.bern (2005): VOX-Trend, December 2005 [3]
  • EU study 2008/09: Local politics as a lifeline for democracy? Trust comparison