Epidemics undermine trust: Political stability in danger!

Epidemics undermine trust: Political stability in danger!

The corona pandemic has had a lasting impact on political structures worldwide. In a recent study, political scientists at Indiana University Bloomington and the University of Konstanz examined the effects of epidemics on trust in political institutions. Loud uni-konstanz.de Research shows that people who have experienced infectious diseases have significantly less trust in the political establishment.

In particular, trust in the president, parliament and the ruling party is affected. It becomes clear that outbreaks of infectious diseases not only reduce trust, but can also increase political polarization and thus undermine a country's stability.

Scope of the study

Researchers Ore Koren and Nils Weidmann focused on several African countries experiencing zoonotic disease outbreaks such as Ebola, H1N1 and Lassa. They combined data from the Geolocated Zoonotic Disease Outbreak Dataset (GZOD) with the Afrobarometer surveys, which capture political and social attitudes in these states. The analysis clearly showed that people in epidemic areas have much lower trust in political actors than their fellow citizens in unaffected regions.

Interestingly, the researchers found that epidemics in neighboring countries do not have an immediate impact on political trust in their own country. This raises the question of how local government actions during health crises can influence trust. The study authors often attribute the loss of trust to mismanagement and unpopular government measures.

Recommendations for the future

Given these findings, the scientists recommend that future public health strategies should be closely coupled with trust-building measures. Transparent communication and the involvement of citizens' trusted people in decision-making processes could be crucial for maintaining political trust in times of crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic itself has reinforced this dynamic and highlighted how fragile political trust is in crisis situations. According to a study funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the PEPP-COV project, trust in political institutions increased at the beginning of the pandemic before falling again as it progressed. idw-online.de reported that trust in the police and media also declined during the pandemic as the population became increasingly critical of the enforcement of measures.

Given the fragility of political trust, it is crucial that governments and institutions not only manage the health crises themselves, but also monitor public sentiment. Solutions that both contain the spread of disease and increase trust in political leadership are essential for the stability of democratic systems.