Presidential Leadership and the Resurgence of Trust in Government

Abstract

Are Happy Days for government really here again? Recent polls suggest that the long slide in public confidence in America's political institutions and authorities has finally ended. Ronald Reagan, who came to Washington to bury government rather than praise it, ironically has presided over a restoration of trust in the competence of national leadership. We begin this article by charting the contours of the unanticipated improvement in the public's image of government, assessing the magnitude of the increase in confidence, identifying the social groups whose outlook has changed and specifying the institutions that have gained in popular esteem. Our main purpose, however, is to provide an explanation for the resurgence of trust in government that addresses persistent controversies about the theoretical and empirical status of this concept.

Spatial and Temporal Proximity: Examining the Effects of Protests on Political Attitudes

“…These include the spread of television and its "critical or cynical measures of and about politicians and government" (Capella and Jamieson 1997;Patterson 1992), perceptions of crime and family decline (Hetherington 1998;Mansbridge 1997), and increasing disenchantment with politicians as a group (Craig 1993;Lawrence 1997). There is also evidence that individuals' responses to ANES items on trust reflect their support or dislike for administrationspecific policies (see Citrin and Green 1986;Hetherington 1999;Levi and Stoker 2000, 488), but the broader trajectory of public attitudes around alienation, efficacy, and trust is at least in part independent of short-term considerations of public policy.…”

More is Better: The Influence of Collective Female Descriptive Representation on External Efficacy

“…Higher feelings of political efficacy are important because they promote regime stability by keeping citizens committed to the existing democratic governing structure, while lower feelings of external efficacy may lead to democratic instability and economic insecurity (Abramson and Aldrich 1982;Citrin and Green 1986;Erber and Lau 1990;Ginsberg 1982;Pollock 1983). Thus, external political efficacy is one measure of acceptance (or rejection) of democratic political institutions and the legitimacy of government.…”

Facteurs explicatifs des fluctuations de la popularité du président Reagan

“…Américains à l'égard de leurs institutions politiques (Citrin et Green, 1986;Lipset, 1985). Enfin, Reagan n'a pas échappé à cette autre loi de la politique présidentielle qui veut que le parti du président subisse des pertes lors des élections de mi-mandat (Abramovitz et al 1986).…”