Democracy and Trust

Is declining trust in government and in other citizens bad for democracy? Bringing together social science and political theory, this book analyzes the relationship between democracy and trust. Trust can develop where interests converge, but in politics interests conflict. Democracy includes a healthy distrust of the interests of the powerful, and institutionalizes it by providing opportunities for citizens to oversee them. Yet democratic institutions depend on a trust among citizens sufficient for representation, resistance, and alternative forms of governance. Leading scholars explore this paradoxical relationship.