Trust in European Democracies

Project Information

TRUEDEM

Grant agreement ID: 101095237

DOI

10.3030/101095237

Project closed

EC signature date 12 December 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2025

Funded under

• Culture, creativity and inclusive society

Total cost

€ 2 977 273,75

EU contribution

€ 2 977 273,50

Coordinated by

INSTITUT FUER VERGLEICHENDE UMFRAGEFORSCHUNG EURASIEN BAROMETER
Austria

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TRUEDEM (Trust in European Democracies)

Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

There is widespread concern among many scholars, media commentators, and policymakers that public trust in political leaders and democratic institutions has eroded over time, within Europe and elsewhere, due to public disaffection with how leaders and institutions perform, generating political instability and polarization, constituting a deep-seated legitimacy crisis for representative democracies. All states require a reservoir of political trust from citizens for voluntary acquiescence with authority, but in Europe such trust is thought as being vital to prevent democratic backsliding. Despite extensive concerns, a considerable scientific debate remains about these common claims, including 1) whether systematic evidence from public opinion trends supports a systematic decline in political trust across European societies; 2) whether any erosion, which is demonstrated to have occurred in specific societies, can be attributed to shortfalls in the policies or procedural performance of governing authorities; 3) whether the consequences of any decline in public trust have indeed triggered greater political instability and polarization; and, finally, 4) on this basis, whether claims of a widespread legitimacy crisis are valid or exaggerated. To address these important issues, TRUEDEM conducts a systematic examination of the patterns, mechanisms, and determinants of political trust in Europe, focusing on the trustworthiness of political actors and institutions as the key driver for trust attitudes. The project’s primary objectives are to develop a rigorously reevaluated theory of political trust and to formulate a comprehensive policy toolkit comprising short- and long-term interventions. These goals are designed to bolster both understanding the informed trust judgements of the public and strengthening the overall trustworthiness of political institutions. TRUEDEM: Trust in European Democracies (2023-2025) is a 3-year collaborative project which has partners in Austria, Czechia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Ukraine.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The TRUEDEM workplan delineates six distinctive phases, each imbued with its own specialized focus: inception, theory development, building the evidence base, synthesis, toolbox development, and exploitation. These phases are intricately aligned with the progression of the project life cycle. Within the reporting period, the project activities were organized within the stages inception, theory development, and building the evidence. Beginning with such pivotal task as establishment of the project as a robust research and scientific infrastructure, the formation of project bodies, website as the digital platform, communication channels and network were carried out in months 1-6. The next phase involved a thorough examination of existing theories, knowledge and data pertaining to trust and trustworthiness, meticulously identifying what inferences are already well established in the previous research literature and what requires further examination. The workplan also entails identifying theoretical propositions about trust and trustworthiness which are theoretically important in contemporary debates, empirically testable through different techniques, and policy relevant. This phase commenced in month 7 and is still ongoing. In the building the evidence phase, starting from month 9, the project then aimed to compile secondary data, and design data collection tools to collect new qualitative and quantitative evidence that will be later used to substantiate or refute the core theoretical propositions in the synthesis phase. Subsequently, the knowledge is translated into actionable policy recommendations through the creation of a comprehensive toolbox in the final year of the project. The research outcomes from the initial phase include six reports, two databases, and infographics, including theoretical and methodological framework papers, comprehensive review of indicators of political trust, database on long-term dynamics of trust, analysis of political trust trends in the context of socioeconomic transformations caused by pandemic and migration, ideological polarization as the potential background for political trust decline among the others.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Overall, the project research agenda is oriented towards achieving seven categories of results, beyond the state of the art, including: (1) the development of a revised theory of political trustworthiness, including new insights into the factors and contexts influencing this relationship; (2) the compilation of comprehensive longitudinal and cross-national survey evidence regarding public trust across various countries and regimes; (3) the creation of open educational resources for civic education; (4) the establishment of the European Observatory of Political Trust network to conduct research and monitoring activities related to trust; (5) the elaboration of democratic innovations aimed at enhancing trust, transparency, and inclusiveness; (6) the production of policy briefs recommending interventions at different levels of governance, along with (7) audience-targeted communication strategies to promote policy measures and innovations. Project is anticipated to generate impact for the revival of democratic governance by providing new references and policy frame for the improvement of accountability, transparency, effectiveness and trustworthiness of political institutions and democratic sustainability. The project will generate impact in the sphere of government by providing new references for enhancement of national and EU agenda for the stabilized and consolidation of political institutions, their competency, integrity and impartiality. The project might generate impact in economic sphere through providing references for enhancement of political trust and rebuilding vertical social capital which contributes to economic growth. Finally, TRUEDEM will facilitate greater engagement of citizens and civil society through utilization of new references for civic education, political communications, media pluralism, and NGO campaigning.

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