Trust and Distrust in Political Institutions

This paper focuses on trust in political institutions. It builds on a large body of research that has provided a wealth of insights but has neglected the relationship between trust and distrust and the specificities of the relationship between institutions and citizens. Drawing on insights from a variety of research fields (philosophy, organisation studies, sociology and political science), the paper argues for treating trust and distrust as two separate concepts. A relational and institutionalist approach is used to show that trust and distrust are part of institutionalised relations, operating at the individual and collective levels, and involving reciprocities and complementarities.