The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship presents:
Mariano Torcal Loriente (Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, Spain)
Title: Democratic experience matters twice: the cross-national and longitudinal effect of democracy on winner/loser gaps in political trust
The dynamics between partisan groups, particularly in the context of competition that produces winners and losers, play a pivotal role in understanding the variations and evolving trends in political trust across nations. First, the findings from this analysis provide robust evidence that legacies of non-democratic governance exert a profound influence on the disparity in political trust between winners and losers. Moreover, the study highlights the critical importance of the quality of democracy in shaping levels of trust once democracy is established, especially in countries emerging from non-democratic regimes. These insights underline the essential need for more than just free and fair elections to bridge the gap in trust between the electoral winners and losers. Addressing historical injustices and safeguarding minority rights emerge as key strategies for mitigating the impact of this divide on trust within contemporary democratic societies.
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This series is sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, which is funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC).