Political Aspects of “Trust” as a Factor of Influence in a Crisis: The Concept, Resources and Modern Trends

Introduction. The article is devoted to topical issues and political aspects of “trust” in the conditions of the modern crisis. This article analyzes the political aspects and manifestations of “trust” and characterizes its resource capacity depending on the level of application. Methods and materials. The article used a certain set of methods that were used to substantiate and solve problems and contributed to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the authors. The historical-retrospective method, which made it possible to trace the process of evolution and changes in the essential interpretations of “trust”, can be attributed to the number of significant ones. The typological and systematic methods made it possible to identify the types of trust and reflect the resource potential of political trust. In addition, the method of actualization, which was used in the process of working on the problem, contributed to the identification of modern trends and prospects. Analysis. The authors dwell in detail on the features of the evolution of “trust” in the context of modern processes and crisis phenomena. The article analyzes various approaches to exploring the essence and characteristics of “trust” as a scientific and practical phenomenon. The levels and types of trust functioning are considered, and certain aspects that have found application in the political sphere and are actualized at the present stage are highlighted. The authors note the influence of information and communication processes on the state of public trust in political institutions, processes, and phenomena. In the context of scaling fake information, the state of counter-suggestiveness of the individual in relation to information stuffing and suggestions that differ from its value orientations, views, and beliefs is highlighted. Results. The study of the category of trust within the framework of an interdisciplinary approach allows us to attribute it to significant elements and factors of the sociopolitical process and track its dynamics under the influence of deep global transformational shifts taking place in the socio-political sphere. The authors, in their results, note the need for systematic monitoring and the accumulation of objective data on the social mood in the issue of trust in the power and the presence of threats in the conditions of dissonance of the political line of power and unsatisfied interests of citizens, which can lead to a crisis of institutional trust. Authors’ contribution. R.H. Usmanov presented the justification and conceptualization of the study, took part in planning the stages of the study, summarized the results of the work, and formulated conclusions, advising on certain issues of manifestations of trust in the political sphere. O.I. Oskina carried out direct analysis and generalization of data sources and scientific literature, conducted a review and analytical study of the data, and participated in the interpretation of the results. E.V. Kudryashova collected data from sources and scientific literature, designed the manuscript and the list of references, edited and processed them, and worked with empirical data.