Political regime and popular trust in the civil service: South Africa and Norway compared

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on patterns of trust in the civil services of two countries: South Africa and Norway. We ask what the factors are that determine trust in the civil service of the two countries: is it social capital or is it the character of the political regime? The data presented suggest that the amount of social capital is not relevant, and that the character of the political regime is more important for explaining variations in such trust.

Acknowledgements

I thank colleagues in the Admin South Africa project at the University of Bergen and the University of the Western Cape, as well as participants in the Public Administration Workshop of the Annual Political Science Conference in Bergen 2006, for their insightful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Steinar Askvik

Steinar Askvik is Associate Professor in the Department of Administration and Organization Theory at the University of Bergen. His research interests include theories of trust, organizational learning and management in public administration