Political values or institutional performance? An analysis of the determinants of trust in political institutions in Peru
Abstract
Several works in the literature have described political trust as a crucial element for the proper functioning of the democratic regime. In spite of this, the Peruvian case presents alarming results regarding this form of trust: an overwhelming majority of citizens distrust their institutions. In this context, this paper asks precisely for the determinants of trust in political institutions in Peru, resorting to democratic values and the perceived performance of these same objects as possible explanations. The findings of this research show that institutional performance plays an important role in understanding these variations, with emphasis on the sense of representation as an indicator of the quality of the political process. Similarly, the idea of a civil service linked to corruption has a negative impact on the trust placed in various political institutions, while the perception of an adequate management of the national economy raises levels of trust, which are even higher in the case of the president of the republic. On the side of democratic values, the results are not conclusive: although support for democracy has a positive impact on trust, indicators of political tolerance only show positive impacts when it comes to institutions directly related to the use of force.
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