From a European comparative perspective, the book addresses a broad range of contested issues. Can political trust be conceived as a one-dimensional concept, and to what extent do international population surveys warrant the culturally equivalent measurement of political trust across European societies? Is there indeed an observable general trend of declining levels of political trust? What are the individual, societal and political prerequisites of political trust and how do they translate into trustful attitudes? Why do so many Eastern European citizens still distrust their political institutions and how does the implementation of welfare state policies enhance and benefit from political trust? The comprehensive empirical evidence presented here by leading scholars offers valuable insights into the relational aspects of political trust and will certainly stimulate future research.Features: a state-of-the-art European perspective on political trust an analysis of the most recent trends with regard to the development of political trust a comparison of traditional and emerging democracies in Europe the consequences of political trust on political stability and the welfare state a counterbalance to the gloomy American picture of declining political trust levels.

Chapter One: Introduction: The Context of Political Trust Marc Hooghe and Sonja Zmerli 1 Chapter Two: Measuring Political Trust Across Time and Space Sofie Marien 13 Chapter Three: Falling or Fluctuating Trust Levels? The Case of the Netherlands Mark Bovens and Anchrit Wille 47 Chapter Four: Winners, Losers and Three Types of Trust Sonja Zmerli and Ken Newton 67 Chapter Five: Trustworthy States, Trusting Citizens? A Multilevel Study into Objective and Subjective Determinants of Political Trust Tom van der Meer and Paul Dekker 95 Chapter Six: Political Trust and Distrust In Post-Authoritarian Contexts Richard Rose and William Mish ler 117 Chapter Seven: Corruption, the Inequality Trap and Trust in Government Eric M. Uslaner 141 Chapter Eight: Dissatisfied Democrats, Policy Feedback and European Welfare States, 1976 - 2001 Staffan Kumlin 163 Chapter Nine: Evaluations of Welfare State Reforms in Germany: Political Trust Makes a (Big) Difference Eva-Maria Trudinger and Uwe Bollow 187 Index