Motives for Political Trust (and Distrust): Interest, Knowledge, and Conviction in Forms of Political Reasoning

The relationship of trust or distrust that binds citizens to politics is nurtured by a range of factors, which depend on the social position of citizens, the undermining of their interests by public policies, and their normative perception of the political world. Using qualitative material provided by discussion groups of somewhat politicized French citizens, this paper identifies the common arguments for political trust and mistrust. What the...