Post-Authoritarian Trust: How Democratic Backsliding Affects Trust In Institutions In Post-Communist Countries

Abstract: Since the fall of the Soviet Union, multiple countries in central and eastern Europe have gone through a democratization process yet trust in institutions have remained low in these countries. Now Poland and Hungary are experiencing a democratic backsliding and autocratization and still trust in institutions remain low but stable. This paper examines whether these countries’ autocratic past are influencing trust to remain stable despite the countries currently going through a democratic backsliding. The findings of this paper is that autocratic past alone cannot explain why trust remains stable but is an important variable when analysing trust in institutions by looking at economic and institutional performance. The need for more research on how trust functions in post-communist states with an authoritarian past is needed.