Erosion of confidence in advanced democracies

The data from a host of cross-national surveys document the sociological finding that citizens increasingly mistrust the principal institutions and organizations of pluralist democracies. Paradoxically, this coincides with the exportation and spread of democratic regimes. Available documentation shows four major characteristics of distrust, which are manifest in many European nations. Many sociological features cross national frontiers and permeate all social strata. These lead to further consideration of legitimacy. Analysis also supports the lesson that electoral procedures alone are no longer sufficient for building confidence in representative democracy, for decisions must be continually taken, and cannot insure the harmonious and full legitimacy of democratic regimes in the most developed countries. Mattei Dogan is Senior Research Director at the French National Centre of Scientific Research, Paris. The author of numerous books and articles, he is also Chair of the Research Committee on Comparative Sociology, International Sociological Association.