political disengagement and trust in europe
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Political Disengagement and Trust in Europe . Political Disengagement and Trust in Europe . Do patterns of engagement and trust differ across countries? And what about between different generations? - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Political Disengagement and Trust in Europe
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Political Disengagement and Trust in Europe Do patterns of engagement and trust differ across countries? And what about between different generations?
We've analysed data from all six waves of the European Social Survey (a cross-national survey that is conducted every two years across Europe) between 2002 and 2012 to try and answer these questions.
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Trust and engagementThere is a link between trust and political participation. In 2012, countries that reported the highest levels of trust in politicians, like Sweden, tended to have higher rates of participation in political and social activities (e.g., signing a petition, joining a protest or political party, etc.).
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However, this isn't universal - participation also clearly seems to be related to political, social and economic circumstances within a country.
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Country Participated in at least 1 pol act? Iceland 83.91%
Sweden 74.39%
Finland 67.64%
Germany 67.31%
Norway 67.12%
Spain 57.23%
Denmark 56.91%
Switzerland 54.79%
Netherlands 46.23%
Belgium 45.75%
United Kingdom 45.01%
Ireland 41.25%
Israel 35.96%
Czech Republic 34.00%
Kosovo 29.65%
Cyprus 28.41%
Slovakia 27.99%
Estonia 25.46%
Poland 22.29%Russian Federation 18.92%
Portugal 18.04%
Slovenia 17.98%
Bulgaria 15.66%
Source: European Social Survey, 2012
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Country Signed petition last 12 month
Iceland 56.4%
Sweden 43.6%
Norway 35.4%
Germany 34.9%
Switzerland 34.1%
Spain 33.2%
United Kingdom 32.1%
Denmark 25.0%
Finland 23.7%
Ireland 23.6%
Netherlands 22.2%
Belgium 20.6%
Slovakia 20.0%
Czech Republic 18.9%
Israel 13.4%
Cyprus 10.8%
Poland 10.4%
Kosovo 9.9%
Estonia 9.6%
Bulgaria 7.9%
Slovenia 7.5%
Portugal 7.5%Russian Federation 6.0%
Source: European Social Survey, 2012
7Source: European Social Survey, 2012
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Trust in national governments and parliaments and in the European UnionA closer look at the data shows that there are some common characteristics between countries with more disengaged and less trusting populations. Mistrust of governments and politicians is higher in countries that have faced recent economic and social turmoil (e.g., Cyprus) as well as former Eastern Bloc countries (e.g., Poland) with only a few decades of modern democracy under their belts.
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Country Trust in country's parliament
Norway 6.2
Switzerland 6.1
Denmark 6.1
Sweden 5.9
Finland 5.9
Netherlands 5.2
Belgium 5
Germany 4.8
United Kingdom 4.2
Iceland 4.2
Israel 4.1
Estonia 3.9
Ireland 3.6
Spain 3.4
Cyprus 3.3Russian Federation 3.3
Czech Republic 3.1
Slovakia 3.1
Kosovo 3.1
Slovenia 2.9
Poland 2.9
Portugal 2.5
Bulgaria 2.1
Source: European Social Survey, 2012
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Country Trust in politicians
Switzerland 5.2
Denmark 5.3
Netherlands 5.1
Norway 5.1
Finland 4.8
Sweden 4.7
Belgium 4.3
Iceland 3.8
Germany 3.7
United Kingdom 3.6
Estonia 3.2
Israel 3.1
Ireland 3.1
Russian Federation 2.9
Slovakia 2.7
Czech Republic 2.5
Cyprus 2.5
Slovenia 2.2
Poland 2.2
Kosovo 2.1
Spain 1.9
Portugal 1.7
Bulgaria 1.7
Source: European Social Survey, 2012
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Trust in institutions in EuropeOver the six waves of the European Social Survey (2002-2012), trust in politicians and political and social institutions has generally declined. In 2010, in the immediate wake of the global recession, levels of trust in parliaments, legal systems and politicians reached their lowest points. Levels of trust increased slightly in 2012.
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Trust in institutions across Europe
Source: European Social Survey, 2012
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Trust in European institutions
European Parliament European Commission European Central Bank European Union Political parties0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
39%
35% 34%31%
14%
Tend to trust
Source: Eurobarometer: Public Opinion in the European Union: First Results. European Commission: Brussels, December 2013
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Does my voice count in the EU?The Eurobarometer surveys also show thatEuropeans have become more likely to thinkthat their voice does not count in the EU.While in 2004, 52% of respondents felt theirvoice did not matter in the EU, this increasedto 66% in 2013.
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Does my voice count in the EU?
Denmark
Belgu
im
Luxem
bourg
Polan
dIre
land
Europ
ean U
nion
Slova
kia
Lithuan
ia UK
Portug
alIta
lyLat
viaGree
ceCy
prus
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00% 57.00%
47.00%
42.00%39.00%
31.00%29.00%
27.00%23.00%
19.00% 18.00% 17.00%15.00%
13.00%11.00%
Source: Eurobarometer: Public Opinion in the European Union: First Results. European Commission: Brussels, December 2013
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What can be done to remedy decline in trust and participation?
The recent British Social Attitudes Survey shows the public want their elected representatives to take some decisions for them, but want a say on big, ethical and democratic questions.
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Referenda on local issues
Source: NatCen Social Research, British Social Attitudes, 2011
Give more power to the EU?
78%
22%Elected MPs inParliament
Everyone in areferendum
Who should decide whether Britain should give more powers to the EU?
Weighted base 1630 respondents. Excludes those who did not answer and those who could not choose between the options
Source: NatCen Social Research, British Social Attitudes, 2011
If you want further information or would like to contact the author,Penny Young Chief ExecutiveT. 020 7250 1866E. [email protected] us online. www.natcen.ac.uk
Thank you