Distrust Of Politicians Research Articles

Judges as Invited Actors in the Political Arena: The Cases of Costa Rica and Guatemala

The goal of this article is to broaden our knowledge of the high courts in Costa Rica and Guatemala by examining the degree to which these courts are used as “mechanisms of social accountability.” For this purpose, this study assesses changes in the number of judicial claims filed by individuals or social groups before the high courts to control the legality of government actions or to protect their own rights. I analyze whether the emergence of this “judicialization by the people” is a consequence of changes in institutional settings and/or a growing distrust in politicians, scenarios that turn the high courts into viable forums for the achievement of political results.

A theory of self-fulfilling political expectations

In their pursuit of being re-elected, politicians might not choose high-quality policies but just conform to popular wisdom. The larger are the office spoils, and the more precise is an incumbent's knowledge of voter opinion, the more likely that she will resort to such populism. My main result is that the public's trust or distrust in politicians' behavior may be self-fulfilling. When voters assess the quality of an incumbent politician, they will compare her policy choices with their own prior opinion. If voters think that the incumbent was just trying to conform, a failure to do so will be even more damaging for the incumbent's election chances. However, this only increases the incumbent's incentives to conform, which indeed confirm voters' skepticism. Loosely put, a skeptic voter attitude tends to generate conformist politicians, while a trusting attitude tends to generate confident ones.

Critical

Critical

Perceived tax evasion and the importance of trust

Using Swedish individual survey data, we analyze the perception of tax evasion in terms of ten different taxes. We find large variation across taxes, highlighting the importance of studying different taxes separately rather than treating tax evasion as one common phenomenon. We focus on the importance of trust in taxpayers and in politicians. Those who do not trust their fellow citizens are more likely to believe that they are evading taxes, but distrust in politicians has an even greater effect, especially for redistributive and fiscally motivated taxes. Hence, it is important for politicians to be perceived as trustworthy in order to be able to collect taxes for maintaining the welfare state.

CITIZEN INITIATED REFERENDUMS (CIRS) IN NEW ZEALAND: A COMPARATIVE APPRAISAL

While there is extensive research on initiatives in Switzerland and American states, there has been very little research into the effects and consequences of the initiative in representative democracies. This paper considers the experience of New Zealand, where the device was introduced in the 1990s. It concludes that initiatives are rarely used, but that they can provide a safety valve for citizens' grievances and paradoxically may even strengthen representative democracy. Unlike the USA, there is no evidence to support the proposition that initiatives help increase turnout in New Zealand, though they seem to have reduced distrust in politicians.

Critical Issues and Political Alienation in Denmark

Indicators of political alienation – distrust in politicians and dissatisfaction with democracy – in the Danish electorate are associated with specific issue positions, economic grievances, and voting for parties with little influence on government policies. Of critical importance are issues in which cosmopolitan values in the political elite confront various kinds of nationalist or isolationist values in the mass public. Thus, during the 1970s and 1980s, distrust and dissatisfaction with democracy were concentrated among NATO and EU opponents on the left. From 1990 on, the emergent issues of refugees and immigration have generated a new basis of alienation on the right, especially after the change from Conservative to Social Democratic government leadership in 1993. Policy distance from the government on EU and on immigration policies constitutes the two major components of political alienation in the 1990s.

‘In theory correct, but in practice...’: Public attitudes to really existing democracy in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Slovakia and the Czech republic

Interviews in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic between five and seven years after the collapse of communism reveal sharp differences among the populations. In Ukraine and Bulgaria there was severe criticism of the implementation of reforms and deep distrust of politicians and officials, whose behaviour was seen as worse than in the communist era. Yet, on balance, a majority also supported the principles of the market economy, privatization, restitution of property, democratization and the multi‐party system. In sharp contrast, people in the Czech Republic were much more positive about politicians and officials, an overwhelming majority declaring that officials’ behaviour had improved since the communist era. Their support for the principles of the market economy, privatization, restitution, democratization and the multi‐party system was unqualified and near‐universal. Public opinion in Slovakia is less easily categorized. Slovaks were highly critical of their politicians, and less enthusiastic about the reforms than the Czechs. But they were more positive towards the officials with whom they came into contact than they were towards their politicians; on balance, a majority detected an improvement in officials’ behaviour since the communist era.

The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen Scientist

Many appreciate Richard P. Feynmans contributions to twentieth-century physics, but few realize how engaged he was with the world around himhow deeply and thoughtfully he considered the religious, political, and social issues of his day. Now, a wonderful bookbased on a previously unpublished, three-part public lecture he gave at the University of Washington in 1963shows us this other side of Feynman, as he expounds on the inherent conflict between science and religion, peoples distrust of politicians, and our universal fascination with flying saucers, faith healing, and mental telepathy. Here we see Feynman in top form: nearly bursting into a Navajo war chant, then pressing for an overhaul of the English language (if you want to know why Johnny cant read, just look at the spelling of friend); and, finally, ruminating on the death of his first wife from tuberculosis. This is quintessential Feynmanreflective, amusing, and ever enlightening.

‘Wrong Persons‐Are Making Right Decisions without Hearing Us’: Political Trust, Responsiveness of Politicians and Satisfaction with Governmental Policies in Finland*

That low trust in politicians in general endangers the political stability of a democratic political system is conventional wisdom even within the political science community. It is the purpose of the article to challenge this notion. It is claimed that, on the contrary, distrust of politicians in general may just be evidence of healthy scepticism. It should, on the other hand, be clear that high trust in politicians in general may also endanger the stability of a political system, even the whole existence of the democratic order. Total faith is blind faith. The main argument of the paper is supported with empirical evidence From Gallup polls in Finland (1974–1984), which show, among other things, that the overall satisfaction with governmental policies has been exceptionally high in our country.