ETT DELAT LAND, ETT DELAT FÖRTROENDE En teoriprövande analys av allmänhetens förtroende för högsta domstolen i ett polariserat USA

Abstract

America finds itself divided in the midst of strict abortion laws and a contentious presidential election. This era of polarization, raises the question of whether such a great division has permeated through to the U.S Supreme Court. This paper uses two dominant theories of legitimacy; traditional and ideological, respectively, to analyze and compare this issue. The theories are compared empirically by investigating the level of public trust across opposing political affiliations. Unlike most previous research, the results suggest that variation in trust aligns with the ideological distance to the Court between democratic and republican voters. Trust is also found to be dependent on whether the electorate agrees with the decisions of the court or not. Thus, this paper offers findings of an increased ideological divide and a court whose legitimacy is in question. For future research, this can be measured further by using more advanced statistical measures and include other factors such as the role of the media in shaping public trust.