Constituents of Confidence and Mistrust in Australian Institutions

Survey research on public confidence in political and other organisations can be used to evaluate popular endorsement of their performance. Without examining proximate factors in detail, this paper considers the value of predictions about the constituents of confidence and mistrust in Australian institutions. These predictions derive from theories about political, social and cultural causes of dissatisfaction with government, and are linked to notions of a crisis of democracy, 'new politics', the impact of economic change on different social groups, traditional political divisions, and accumulation of 'social capital'. This paper explores the arguments and analyses their validity.