Available to buy from retail book stores or direct from Oxford University Press.
In this book, Weinberg turns the field of comparative political trust research completely on its head by shifting the common scholarly perspective from citizens to politicians' perceptions of whether or not they're trusted, thereby opening up astounding new insights and research avenues. Having gained personal access to elected officials in three countries, and clearly their trust, all interested readers will be richly rewarded by Weinberg's methodological expertise in data collection and triangulation combined with his academic courage, rigour and modesty in taking the lead in a henceforth overlooked realm of research.
Professor Sonja Zmerli (Sciences Po)
Blurb…
Despite the existence of a large literature on themes relating to trust and distrust in politics, there has been no sustained research that directly engages with the primary objects of trust: politicians. Governing in an Age of Distrust tackles this important gap head on by asking not only whether the public trusts in politicians, but also whether politicians accurately perceive and act upon the trust placed in them. In doing so, I draw on unique survey and interview data gathered from nationally and locally elected politicians in different countries that have faced a crisis of political trust in recent decades: principally, the United Kingdom, Canada, and South Africa. I identify different types of ‘political trustees’ and subsequently analyse the relationship between perceptions of trust and a variety of outcomes, such as politicians’ blame avoidance behaviour and personal well-being. Throughout the book, I try not only to open up a new research agenda on political trust, but also to tackle questions that are arguably of paramount importance if we are to understand when, why, and how politicians do or do not deliver on the promise of democracy.