STAD OCH LAND-KLYFTANS EFFEKT PÅ POLITISK TILLIT. En kvantitativ studie av politikerförtroendet i 18 europeiska länder

Abstract

This study examines the effect of the urban-rural divide on political trust using data from 18 european countries. Recent political events as the result of the Brexit-vote in the UnitedKingdom and the French Yellow vests movement indicates a political distrust among rural areas. The study draws on the theoretical framework of centres and peripheries which states that peripheral areas are subordinate to the political centers. Complementary alternative explanations of political trust are also used to control for factors connected to institutional and cultural theories of the origin of trust. Based on previous research that found empirical support for lower levels of political trust in peripheral areas, rural areas were expected to be less trusting compared to urban areas. Using regression analysis this study examines the connection between place of residence and political trust under control for sociodemographic factors, social trust, satisfaction with democracy, centralisation and country specific factors. The study found no connection between the urban rural-divide and political trust. However, the results are in line with previous research stating that institutional theories regarding political trust holds more explanatory power compared to cultural theories.