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Initiated Distrust

Direct Democracy and Trust in Government

University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, jdyck{at}buffalo.edu

An abundance of recent research has suggested that direct democracy institutions, such as the initiative and referendum, craft an environment ripe for encouraging better democratic citizenship. High and frequent exposure to ballot measures has been shown to increase the awareness, efficacy, political participation, and even the general level of happiness of citizens. In contrast to these studies, I develop and test a theory that the use of ballot initiatives undermines the ability of government to prove themselves trustworthy. Using data from two surveys, I demonstrate that ballot initiatives in the American states do indeed create an environment that encourages citizens to distrust their government. The findings have implications in assessing the positive externalities to direct legislation as well as in understanding policy choice made in these elections.

Key Words: political trust • direct democracy • ballot initiatives and referendums • state politics • political participation

This version was published on July 1, 2009

American Politics Research, Vol. 37, No. 4, 539-568 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1532673X08330635


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