2025/10/02 by Pablo Christmann, Pedro C. Magalhães, Sofia Vasilopoulou · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Populism, Right-Wing Movements #Social Capital and Networks
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/13608746.2025.2576094
openalex publication_date 2025/10/02 · openalex created_date 2026/01/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
This study examines long-term patterns of political trust in Southern Europe through a comparison of Greece, Portugal, and Spain— countries that led the third wave of democratisation. Drawing on data from 45 Eurobarometer surveys (1997–2022), it tests four explanations of political trust: macroeconomic performance, corruption, ideological congruence, and party-system polarisation. The analysis highlights the varying importance of these factors across countries. Economic performance and political polarisation consistently influence trust, while corruption is a significant factor in Greece and Spain. Ideological congruence shows no substantial effect, except in Portugal. The study demonstrates that countries exposed to a common systemic shock may nonetheless develop divergent trajectories of political trust, shaped by the interaction of economic and political conditions.