Annual Academic Lecture: Trust and COVID-19 with Prof Will Jennings
When:
—
Venue:
Online
Annual Academic Lecture: Will Jennings
Chair: Dr Ben Worthy
Online Join link here
Join us for the Centre for the Study of British Politics and Public Life's Annual Academic Lecture with Prof Will Jennings . Will Jennings is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Southampton.
Professor Will Jennings will be discussing his research around the politics of trust and the pandemic'. Please check here for more details on this project.
Trust and COVID-19
It has been argued in many quarters that trust is crucial for societal and governmental efforts to bring COVID-19 under control. Trust in both scientific expertise and government matters for securing the compliance of citizens with restrictive containment measures put in place to combat the virus. In the early stages of the crisis, many world leaders and governments enjoyed a ‘rally-around-the-flag’ effect as citizens placed their trust in political authorities to protect them. But has COVID-19 transformed the politics of advanced Western democracies or have its effects been ephemeral?
This talk draws on evidence from surveys fielded in the US, UK, Italy and UK and focus groups conducted in the UK during the early part of the crisis (in summer 2020), and attempts to map out some of the drivers of public trust and its consequences for governance of the pandemic. It considers how citizens make trust judgments in the context of COVID-19, with trust in government expressed as a matter of faith in the state to protect them at a time of crisis, and a fraying of that trust in response to scandals and perceived ineptitude.
The talk explores how the distinct concepts of trust, mistrust and distrust are associated with variation in public perceptions of the threat posed by the virus, evaluations of the competence of government handling and the adjustment of behaviours in response to the pandemic. Political trust significantly influences experience of the pandemic and at the same time seems to be shaped by it (through initial 'rallies' of support and the gradual erosion of trust through time in government). The legacy of COVID-19 may therefore be significant for social and political trust.
Contact name:
Zoe Williams