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11. Trust a few: natural disasters and the formation of trust in Africa

Author:
Robert Mackay, Astghik Mavisakalyan, and Yashar Tarverdi
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Individuals are at their most mental plasticity in their impressionable years (ages 18–25 years) forming long-term attitudes and behaviours essential to functioning in a society, such as trust. In this paper we ask how exposure to natural disasters within the impressionable years may affect the formation of trust by matching data from over 1,000 disaster occurrences with data from 88,670 individuals across 36 African nations. Exploiting the frequency of disaster exposure across the impressionable years, we show that disaster exposure has a negative and significant association with generalized trust. Additionally, we show that disasters experienced during the impressionable years have an impact on other dimensions of interpersonal and institutional trust. Our findings are robust to a battery of tests and add to the evidence base on the lasting impacts of natural disasters on individuals and societies.
Topic:
Natural Disasters, Crisis Management, Institutions, and Trust
Political Geography:
Africa

12. Sustainable Development of Trust and Police Presence in Schools: Implications for School Safety Policy

Author:
Bojan Jankovic, Vladimir M. Cvetkovic, Zvonimir Ivanovic, Aleksandar Ivanov, Svetlana Jovanovic, and Bozidar Otasevic
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
The study aims to determine the trust and presence of police officers in schools in Serbia, as well as the perception of the principals and secretaries, teachers and staff, parents, and students on how successful the specific police units dedicated to schools were in fulfilling their tasks. The ex-post analysis was conducted through PEST/SWAT analysis, mapping the key actors and using batteries of online questionnaires, besides interviews with the MOI representatives, surveyed with personal interviewing, computer-aided surveying, desk analysis, and content analysis. The survey was conducted from September 2021 to June 2022. The research methods were implemented in 1140 schools in Serbia, and 8,617 people were included in surveys: police officers (308); principals and secretaries (1085); the team for protection against discrimination (982); teachers and staff (2988); parents (938) and students (2316). The relationships between the covariates and perception were investigated using the t-test, one-way ANOVA, multivariate linear regression, and binary regression. The results showed that a project of school police officers was not fully recognized as one of the strategically essential instruments for safe schools; trust is low, but presence is high. Besides that, the results suggest that the entire public believes that police are needed in schools and that it positively affects school safety. Regarding school safety policy, it is necessary to undertake three measures for the sustainable development of trust and the presence of police in school: regulatory, informative-educational, and institutional-organizational.
Topic:
Police, Trust, Schools, Public Safety, Perception, and Sustainable Development
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Serbia

13. 10th edition of “Trust in Governance”, annual public opinion poll in Albania

Author:
Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM)
Publication Date:
07-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM)
Abstract:
The annual Trust in Governance Opinion Poll with the first organized in 2013, presents its milestone tenth edition. The 2022 report encapsulates an overview of significant trends that have emerged across years and examines the findings from the year. The Trust in Governance Opinion Poll explores public perceptions and attitudes on issues such as trust in public institutions transparency and accountability of public institutions, prevalence of corruption, level of citizen engagement in policy and decision-making, satisfaction with public-service delivery and enforcement of non-discriminatory laws and policies. It generates data that can be utilized to enhance major reforms related to good governance, anti-corruption, the judiciary and cross-cutting issues such as gender equality and social inclusion.
Topic:
Corruption, Governance, Public Opinion, Transparency, and Trust
Political Geography:
Europe, Balkans, and Albania

14. Perceptions of Public Safety and Trust in Security and Justice Institutions: Socio-Economic Influences in Serbia

Author:
Dušan Stanković
Publication Date:
07-2023
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP)
Abstract:
This analysis is based on the public opinion survey conducted in Serbia in 2022. The research objectives were to investigate citizens’ perceptions of public safety and trust in security and justice institutions in Serbia. Public safety perceptions were divided into questions on national safety and personal safety. The report is structured to present methodology and findings on the trust in security and justice institutions, and then perceptions of national and personal safety risks. The results are presented using graphic figures and text. The perceptions and demographical (socio-economic characteristics) differences are analyzed using a statistical test. Since the data of this study includes responses to the public opinion survey from October 2022, readers must consider the time gap between the public poll results and current public safety in Serbia.
Topic:
Security, Public Opinion, Institutions, Trust, and Public Safety
Political Geography:
Europe and Serbia

15. Does local infrastructure determine trust in local government councils?

Author:
Thomas Isbell, Wilfried Youmbi, and Daniel Kofi Banini
Publication Date:
05-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Afrobarometer
Abstract:
The relationship between infrastructure and trust in local government is under-researched yet relevant for many countries. This paper examines how proximity to local infrastructure relates to public trust in local governments. Using data from the sixth round of the Afrobarometer survey in Cameroon, we construct an infrastructure indicator index to measure respondents’ proximity to local infrastructure. The index considers whether the respondent lives in a primary sampling unit (PSU) with access to electricity, water, cell phone service, and a sewerage system. It also takes into account whether the respondent lives in a PSU with paved roads where a school, police station, and health centre are within walking distance. We examine causality by using the presence or absence of a bank in the respondent’s PSU as an instrumental variable for local infrastructure. The study shows a robust positive and statistically significant relationship between proximity to infrastructure and public trust in local government. The results suggest that Cameroonians’ willingness to reward infrastructure in their neighbourhoods by trusting their government officials who might provide these facilities is indicative of a desire for bottom-up political accountability in the absence of citizens’ ability to hold top government officials accountable due to limited levels of democracy. Infrastructure provision and its variations have become an important measure of government performance, with communities that have better access to infrastructure conditions expressing greater trust in local government officials.
Topic:
Infrastructure, Institutions, Trust, Energy, and Local Government
Political Geography:
Africa and Cameroon

16. Building public trust to successfully deploy AI in EU healthcare

Author:
Danielle Brady
Publication Date:
01-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Policy Centre (EPC)
Abstract:
COVID-19 has underscored the importance of digital health: the digitalisation of healthcare would improve health systems’ resilience and service delivery, empower citizens, and bolster research and innovation. However, despite the many benefits of introducing technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) into the European healthcare sector, it also raises questions on its impact on the healthcare workers, the potential for new inequalities, privacy issues and public trust. Not to mention, broader questions on the ethics and social implications of AI. The EU’s Proposal for a Regulation Laying Down Harmonised Rules on Artificial Intelligence and the European Health Data Space address many of these concerns, but cannot combat them all alone. Without public trust, acceptance and understanding, AI’s full potential in healthcare will not be realised. Attention must be given to the communication of the benefits of AI in healthcare to the public, Europeans’ digital literacy, the upskilling of the EU health workforce, and the investment in AI technologies. Clear and convincing explanations regarding AI use in healthcare are required so that citizens understand their benefit and trust that their personal data will be handled safely. If the EU and its member states fail to build trust in the deployment of AI in healthcare, Europe will miss a chance to reap all the benefits that AI offers to its citizens and their health.
Topic:
Health, European Union, Regulation, Artificial Intelligence, COVID-19, Digitization, and Trust
Political Geography:
Europe

17. Fostering constructive relations Approaches to trust-building in peacebuilding interventions

Author:
Viktoria Budde and Karoline Eichhoff
Publication Date:
05-2022
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Berghof Foundation
Abstract:
The international community is currently facing a dilemma: although building trust between representatives of state institutions and the population is one of the fundamental components of cooperation between donors and recipient countries of support services in the security sector, we are observing worldwide that trust in state institutions fades. Confidence-building initiatives between citizens and, for example, the police and the military obviously do not always contribute to improvement. Therefore, basic assumptions about the role of trust and how trust-building works in conflict societies must be questioned.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Conflict, Social Order, and Trust
Political Geography:
Global Focus

18. A Two-Track Approach for Trustworthy AI

Author:
Michel Girard
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:
Standards and certification programs are developed to support new trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI) legislation. Recent developments point to the emergence of a two-track approach. One track would focus on the certification of AI applications embedded in tangible products using objective criteria through established conformity assessment bodies. Regarding AI interacting with humans and used in delivering services, there is a need to create a new track. This track is needed to verify and validate compliance against subjective criteria, values and ethics, seen by many as an integral part of what constitutes trustworthy AI. The practice of “assurance as a service” can be adapted to verify and validate conformance to upcoming trustworthy AI standards. This policy brief provides an update on key legislative and policy developments framing trustworthy AI. It sketches possible approaches for the certification, verification and validation of AI embedded in products and in services and looks at recent proposals regarding the creation of a new chartered profession to deliver assurance services to achieve trustworthy AI.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Regulation, Artificial Intelligence, Emerging Technology, and Trust
Political Geography:
Global Focus

19. Trust as state capacity: The political economy of compliance

Author:
Timothy Besley and Sacha Dray
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
This paper explores the link between trust in government, policy-making, and compliance. It focuses on a specific channel whereby citizens who are convinced that a policy is worthwhile are more motivated to comply with it. This in turn reduces the government’s cost of implementing a policy and may also increase the set of feasible policies. Thus, state capacity is greater when citizens trust their government. The paper discusses alternative approaches to modelling the origins of trust, especially the link to the design of political institutions. We then provide empirical evidence consistent with the model’s findings that compliance is increasing in trust using the Integrated Values Survey and voluntary compliance during COVID-19 in the UK. We also show that countries with high levels of citizen trust in government were more likely to implement policies requiring voluntary compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper suggests that trust in government can play a role in building and expanding state capacities.
Topic:
Government, Political Economy, Capacity, Compliance, and Trust
Political Geography:
Global Focus

20. Chinese Trust in Government: A Response Pattern Approach

Author:
Cary Wu and Yao Lu
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
Abstract:
Chinese citizens have high trust in their government is well documented. Recent data show that this remains true during the COVID-19 crisis. Nonetheless, a long-standing debate is whether Chinese trust in government is genuine or simply a reflection of political fear. To offer further insights, in this article I adopt a response pattern approach that shifts the focus from how much people trust (the level of trust) to how people trust (the pattern of trust). Analyzing data from multiple sources, I consider the homogeneity and heterogeneity in how political trust is expressed among diverse populations (e.g., children vs adults) and in different situations (e.g., taped vs. not taped). I identify ten specific patterns that consistently suggest Chinese trust in government may not be simply reduced to a misrepresentation out of political fear. This study illustrates that examining the often-overlooked patterns of how people express their attitudes within different segments of the population and in different contexts provides a means to test whether the expressed attitudes are fake or genuine. This event is sponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and cosponsored by the China Center for Social Policy.
Topic:
Government, Public Opinion, Citizenship, COVID-19, and Trust
Political Geography:
China and Asia