Abstract
AbstractBased on comparative qualitative research in five local authority areas, this article argues that local context is key to understanding the roots of the U.K.'s crisis of political trust and the result of the 2016 E.U. referendum. The competing cultural and economic causes of discontent suggested by the literature were found to be deeply intertwined when analyzed from a local perspective. The sense of political disempowerment and negative attitudes toward migration were ingrained in and reinforced by locally specific socio‐economic and political trajectories. These experiences were articulated and amplified by dominant discourses, which channeled frustration against the political elite and the E.U. These populist narratives, promoted by the Leave campaign and the tabloid press, became dominant in certain areas, decisively shaping citizens' voting behavior. Overall, the article highlights the value of studying how local experiences and interpretations mediate the interplay of cultural and economic causes of discontent and political distrust.
Highlights
Brexit illustrates how rich countries, which have not necessarily experienced a significant loss of social trust or social capital since the 1970s (Newton, Stolle, & Zmerli, 2018, pp. 50–51), may Governance. 2021;1–20.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/goveOLIVAS OSUNA ET AL.undergo crises in political trust with far-reaching consequences
Using as a starting point the idea that trust for particular categories of actors, in this case politicians, is created and lost based on those actors' observed behavior and ability to deliver (Farrell, 2009, p. 142), we develop the case that place-specific experiences and local interpretations are key to addressing this question
Most studies on Brexit and the underpinning political trust crisis have focused on the national level, assuming that individual variables operate uniformly across space and not paying sufficient attention to local realities and contextually specific configurations of factors
Summary
Brexit illustrates how rich countries, which have not necessarily experienced a significant loss of social trust or social capital since the 1970s (Newton, Stolle, & Zmerli, 2018, pp. 50–51), may Governance. 2021;1–20.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/goveOLIVAS OSUNA ET AL.undergo crises in political trust with far-reaching consequences. By identifying the circumstances in which economic and cultural factors become fused, a local-level analysis can help to develop an understanding of the geographic disparity of both political trust and protest voting.
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