Capable but unheard: political efficacy configurations and political trust in Italy

How does the combination of internal and external political efficacy relate to political trust? This article examines political trust through the established distinction between internal and external political efficacy, focusing on the configuration of relatively high internal efficacy and low external efficacy. Using Italian data from Round 11 of the European Social Survey, I employ multi-item efficacy measures and survey-design-adjusted models to examine trust in parliament, politicians and political parties. Lower external efficacy is strongly associated with lower political trust, and this association is moderately stronger at higher levels of internal efficacy. Predictions from a four-cell typology qualify this interpretation: respondents with higher internal efficacy are most trusting when they feel heard, but this trust advantage is not observed among those who feel unheard. The findings contribute a conditional-efficacy perspective to research on political trust and representation.