Generalized Trust in Multi-organizational Policy Arenas: Studying Its Emergence from a Network Perspective

In: Political research quarterly: PRQ ; official journal of the Western Political Science Association and other associations, Band 62, Heft 1, S. 178-189

Abstract

This study tests hypotheses linking the structural characteristics of policy networks to the feelings of trust of their members. A social capital perspective suggests that actors in denser networks should trust others more, while an alternative 'centrality' approach suggests that trust may be a byproduct of the occupation of key positions in the group. The author tests these expectations with data mapping policy networks in twenty-two estuaries in the United States and finds that centrality is a better predictor of trust. This opens room for questioning the real value of trust as a necessary ingredient in the solution of collective action dilemmas. Adapted from the source document.