Political Trust in the Era of Crises

Around the world, people have closely observed the damages and harm caused by natural disasters and the Covid-19 pandemic over the past few years. The emergence of these exogenous events further stresses regimes that are faced with complex issues on a daily basis. This panel will examine how the Covid-19 pandemic affects people's perceptions of government performance, as well as whether their views of climate change have changed as a result of crisis experiences. Furthermore, misinformation has become a concern in democracies, and whether people trust the information offered by the media indicates the extent to which misinformation is effective. While the executive branch attempts to tighten controls over media and the Internet in order to curb misinformation, the trust gap between the executive and legislative branches may explain why executive aggrandizement is largely unnoticed and even welcomed by the public.