For a long time, academia has recognised trust's role in political relationships (Newton, Stolle and Zmerli, 2017). Even as far back as 551 BCE, Confucius advocated trust as one of the three pillars essential for effective governance, alongside weapons and food.

Establishing trust is essential for all leaders; is a currency even autocratic rulers must learn to accumulate, often through the art of propaganda. While autocrats may brandish their weapons and wield threats to enforce obedience, the art of nurturing trust between leaders and their followers is a more cost-effective and potent path to sustaining political authority without the need for relentless monitoring and control.

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A crucial aspect of democratic participation is the willingness of citizens and politicians to commit to democratic processes and abide by the rules emerging from these, even in disagreement (Anderson, 2005). This voluntary compliance system relies on all democratic actors to operate according to what was agreed upon, regardless of personal agreement with specific policy decisions. Trust is thus a multidirectional relationship between citizens and politicians whereby each party interacts with the others based upon an expectation of reciprocity. According to Offe’s (1999) categorisation, the first dimension is citizens' trust in their fellow citizens, which is widely discussed in social capital literature. The second dimension is citizens' trust in elites, which is often analysed in research on trust in government. The third dimension is the political elites' trust in other elites, and the fourth is the political elites' trust in citizens.

For democracy to function, citizens must be willing to place themselves in a vulnerable position vis-a-vis political actors and institutions, delegating some of life’s most serious questions to others (Uslaner, 2017; Zmerli, 2014; Weinberg, 2020). Thus, citizens must trust that politicians and institutions will do right by them. At the same time, politicians rely on citizens to respect their mandates and comply with the rule of law, and fellow politicians to remain faithful to their promises.

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Trust is so crucial for democracies that in polarised societies, trust becomes the make-or-break factor. Political actors may abandon their democratic ideals when they suspect foul play from their adversaries. Braley et al. (2023) found that democratic backsliding can be triggered or averted by either assuming nefarious intentions in political rivals or believing in their commitment to the rule of law. In simpler terms, a lack of trust in others can put democracy on life support, as the fear of losing it drives some to snatch away democratic participation from their perceived foes.

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Lack of trust in citizens may lead to dismissing or even hostile treatment of opinions and concerns of citizens, considering them uninformed or irrelevant. Moreover, politicians’ negative attitudes toward citizens have been identified as a significant barrier to authentic public participation (King and Stivers 1998; King, Feltey, and Susel 1998) 

 

Hillary Clinton once called Trump's supporters a 'basket of deplorables' (Montanaro, 2016). Trump claimed that democratic supporters engaged in electoral fraud by stealing ballots as part of a concerted plan to destroy suburbia and take over government (Glasser, 2020). During and after the UK referendum to leave the European Union, opposing sides of the campaign were consistently either dismissive or condescending towards each other. Leavers were either labelled as victims of a 'baseless, systematic deception' (Baines et al., 2020:757) or ignorant and easily manipulated beings without agency or intelligence. At the same time, pro-Brexit campaigners and media outlets used derogatory terms like 'Remoaners' or 'Saboteurs' to describe those who advocated for remaining in the EU (Sykes, 2018). These labels were used to portray Remainers as obstructionists to the people's will or complainers that they did not get their way in the referendum.

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Both scenarios are clear signs of a profound lack of trust in citizens. These negative attitudes and behaviours chip away at confidence in the political system, discouraging citizens from engaging actively in elections, participating in public forums, or forging meaningful dialogues with their elected representatives. Trust is essential for a well-functioning political system; without trust, democracy and effective governance can break down, leading to instability and polarisation.

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