Understanding Political Trust: A Turn to Processes of (De-)Legitimisation

The study of political legitimacy has taken a flight from the 1970s onwards. At that time, processes of globalisation and localisation were considered to challenge nation-states’ political effectiveness and their capacity to evoke emotive bounds with their citizens (Rothchild 1977). Since the 1970s, studies have demonstrated a general decline of political trust in western industrialised societies; confirming the existence of legitimacy deficits (e.g., Dalton 2004; Pharr and Putnam 2000). In their efforts to generate explanations for these deficits, scholars have predominantly focussed on procedures of government, the state of the economy and civil society, and the growing individualisation of society (Wolfe 1989; Grimes 2006). Current paper joins up with this literature and argues the need for a closer investigation of the social phenomenon that is political legitimacy (Thornhill 2011; Fossen 2011). Drawing from extant literature, the paper makes two claims more specifically. It argues, first, that the study of processes of (de-)legitimisation may help us understand how citizens evaluate political institutions and authorities. It shifts the focus from political trust – as an expression of citizens’ passive beliefs – to the active processes during which social norms of political legitimacy are (re-)created. Uncovering these (changing) social norms allows for grounding explanations for political (dis-)trust in citizens’ lived experiences as opposed to theoretical postulates on legitimacy. The paper argues, second, that the study of processes of (de-)legitimisation allows us to consider the role of norm entrepreneurs in the diffusion of political trust (cf. Barker 2001). To date, the causes of citizens’ declining trust levels are predominantly located in broader societal trends (such as, globalisation, and individualization); potentially undervaluing the role of individual actors. The paper concludes by means of a discussion of the type of data and methodologies that allow for studying processes of (de-)legitimisation.