Partisan Sentiments and Political Trust: A Longitudinal Study of Spain

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article seeks to gain a deeper understanding on the relationship between polarisation and political trust in multiparty systems by examining the effect of different indicators of affective and ideological polarisation on the within-individual variation of political trust over time. Using unique data collected from two separate online survey panels in Spain, our findings show that in multiparty contexts it is important to use two different measures of affective polarisation, as they have two distinct effects on political trust. While in-group affective polarisation tends to increase political trust, out-group polarisation has a negative impact on within-individual levels of trust in all democratic institutions. The latter effect is much stronger, adding nuance to existing explanations of the overall decline in political trust Observed in many democracies in contemporary democracies.