Political Trust Scale
The Political Trust Scale measures citizen confidence in government institutions, elected officials, and the political system's responsiveness and fairness. Pioneered by Miller (1974) and operationalized across comparative electoral studies (CSES Module 5), the scale captures both diffuse trust (in the political system generally) and specific trust (in particular institutions such as parliament or the executive). It is central to understanding democratic legitimacy, political engagement, and support for democratic institutions.
Source record
Citations copied verbatim from the method’s source record. No claim-level verification is inferred from them.
- Miller, A. H. (1974). Political issues and trust in government: 1964-1970. American Political Science Review, 68(3), 951-972. · DOI 10.2307/1959140
- Hetherington, M. J. (2005). Why trust matters: Declining political trust and the demise of American democracy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. · URL
- Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) Module 5 (2016-2021). Political Trust and Legitimacy Scales. CSES Secretariat, University of Michigan. · URL
Curated claims
Claims persisted in the evidence ledger, each with its own assessment.
This view does not invent a claim assessment when the ledger has none.
Related methods
Generated from the method graph and shown as machine-suggested relations — no evidence claim is inferred.