The bases of political trust in six Asian societies: Institutional and cultural explanations compared

 Wong, T. K. Y., Wan, P. S., & Hsiao, H. H. M.

2011

Journal Article

Politics and Institutional Change › Political Culture and Socialization

Wong, T. K. Y., Wan, P. S., & Hsiao, H. H. M. (2011). The bases of political trust in six Asian societies: Institutional and cultural explanations compared. International Political Science Review, 32(3), 263–281.

Culture Institution Political Trust 

Political trust reflects people’s evaluative orientation toward the polity and is thus vital to regime stability. Based on data drawn from a cross-national social survey, this article examines the level of political trust in six Asian societies and the possible effects of a series of institutional and cultural factors on political trust. It finds that institutional factors, particularly the economic and political performance of government, are powerful determinants of political trust, whereas the effects of such cultural factors as post-materialism, traditionalism, and authoritarianism are either insignificant or weak. The superiority of the institutional approach over the cultural approach is reconfirmed.