Colored Revolutions, Interpersonal Trust, and Confidence in Institutions: The Consequences of Mass Uprisings*

Abstract

ObjectiveRecent upheavals in the Middle East raise a number of questions regarding the consequences of mass uprisings. We examine the impact that earlier peaceful revolutions had on interpersonal and institutional trust in the postcommunist world.MethodsData were collected from eight countries using two waves from the World Values Survey, three of which had experienced a colored revolt. The article uses mixed effects logit analysis and quasi‐experimental techniques.ResultsLevels of social trust are much less in countries where a colored revolution occurred than in countries that had not experienced such an uprising. However, confidence in political institutions increased in contrast to countries that had not experienced an uprising.ConclusionThe level of interpersonal trust is not necessarily connected to the level of institutional trust. The decline in interpersonal trust in post‐colored‐revolution societies does not bode well for the development of democracy after mass upheaval.