Pandemic Ponderings: The Effect of Trust on Covid-19 Policy Stringency in Developed Democracies

Abstract

From the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic, global democracies have attempted to contain the disease. With an array of policy options available, some democratic governments employed strict policies characterized by sweeping mandates and curbing of personal autonomy, while others relied more heavily on recommendations and relatively less stringent policies. Beginning with a sample of 21 developed democracies, I conducted a series of OLS regression analyses to determine the influence of governmental and interpersonal trust on the stringency of democracies’ Covid-19 policies. I found a significant negative relationship between levels of interpersonal trust and Covid-19 policy stringency. Governmental trust did not significantly predict Covid-19 policy stringency. These results conflict with extant literature regarding the importance of governmental trust to policy implementation. I reconcile this discrepancy by extending the conversation characterizing the Covid-19 Pandemic as a social dilemma. I contend that democracies deviate from traditional democratic principles during crises and act decisively to combat immediate threats. During the pandemic, this emergency response is applied using the social dilemma framework, explaining the significance of interpersonal trust. This thesis sheds light on democracies’ responses to immediate threats and proposes priorities for democracies to encourage the continuity of democratic values even in times of crisis.