TRUEDEM at ECPR General Conference 2024

On August 15, 2024, the TRUEDEM project hosted a panel on Political Trust in European Democracies at the ECPR General Conference at University College Dublin. Chaired by Christian Haerpfer (University of Vienna), with Pavol Babos (Comenius University Bratislava) as discussant. The panel examined political trust as a crucial element of democratic stability and engagement, discussing its role in citizen participation, electoral turnout, and institutional effectiveness. A key theme was the “dark sides” of trust, exploring how high trust levels can sometimes reinforce authoritarian tendencies. The TRUEDEM project takes a multi-faceted approach, investigating both long-term structural drivers of trust and policy interventions aimed at strengthening institutional trustworthiness.

The panel featured four research presentations, each offering fresh insights into the complexities of political trust in European democracies. Christian Haerpfer (University of Vienna) examined trust in national parliaments across 30 European democracies from 1990 to 2023, analyzing long-term trends and the factors influencing institutional confidence. Pavol Babos (Comenius University Bratislava) presented findings from a qualitative study on low trust in the European Union, focusing on the perceptions and experiences of Slovak citizens. Kseniya Kizilova (Institute for Comparative Survey Research, Austria) explored the relationship between media consumption, information environments, and political trust, highlighting how different sources shape public perceptions of governance. Lastly, Kornelia Batko, Dawid Tatarczyk, and Agnieszka Turska-Kawa (University of Silesia) investigated religious and political determinants of institutional trust in Poland, shedding light on the intersection of ideology, faith, and public confidence in democratic institutions.

The TRUEDEM panel at ECPR 2024 contributed to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of trust in democratic institutions, highlighting both challenges and opportunities for strengthening democracy in an era of increasing political polarization and democratic backsliding. The findings presented continue to shape discussions on how governments, institutions, and civil society can foster informed and accurate perceptions of trustworthiness in governance.