Trust in democracy in times of crisis: Trust in social justice and state institutions as precursors of extremist attitudes

• In Event: EXTR10 Susceptibility to radicalisation and extremist attitudes

Abstract

This article examines the influence of citizens' evaluations of key state institutions in terms of perceived fairness (i.e. confidence in social justice) and legitimacy (i.e. confidence in state institutions) on political radicalisation (in terms of lack of confidence in democracy and the development of extremist attitudes). Tyler's theory of procedural justice (PJ) provides the theoretical background for the analyses and findings presented. In particular, we examine whether the perceived marginalisation of one's own social group promotes democratic disengagement and undermines individuals' trust in state institutions. We also analyse the extent to which these relationships change in times of crisis.
The data used come from three waves of a nationally representative survey of the adult population in Germany conducted in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Between these survey waves, several changes occurred that contributed to the worsening of the social and economic crisis that had already begun with the COVID pandemic: the war in Ukraine, the resulting restrictions on gas, oil and petrol supplies, and a drastic rise in inflation. As theoretically expected, the adult population in Germany tends to be more critical of the authorities and less supportive of democracy in times of crisis. Moreover, the relationships between these constructs become stronger in times of crisis.
Our findings make two important contributions to the study of radical and extremist attitudes: (1) Developing a theory of political legitimacy to explain antidemocratic attitudes. (2) Examining the impact of global crises on attitudes towards democracy and their relationship with perceptions of fairness and legitimacy.

Authors

• Diego Farren, Universität Hamburg

• Peter Wetzels, Universität Hamburg