Trust in Crisis
Though the economic crisis in Europe since 2007 has provoked substantial discussion within the public sphere regarding the decline of trust in the State and major private institutions like banks, there has been little research on the practical importance of trustworthiness and trust to addressing problems generated by the recession. Our project investigated if community and faith-based initiatives aimed at increasing local resources and individual aspirations and growth encourage qualities associated with trustworthiness, for instance, reliability and honesty, and placing trust in order to function. The study likewise analysed the significance of trust for the initiative's sustainability and impact.
The research focused specifically on areas of high ethno-religious diversity and deprivation in Paris, London, Berlin, and Rome. The choice of cities and areas characterised by diversity indicated the influence of economic pressures like budget cuts and low growth, inequality, and the status of interfaith relations on the role of trust in community-based initiatives. The project examined trust within three separate approaches to generating local resources and enhancing individual self-awareness: inter-religious understanding, social action, and economic development.
The project sought to identify:
- The meaning of trust in practice, in this case, within interfaith relations in Europe under austerity and in an era of continuing recession
- How individuals of different faith, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds decide to trust or mistrust each other, or more specifically, the criteria they use to determine trustworthiness
- What the placement of trust means in terms of behaviour toward the 'other'
- The impact that trust and mistrust in local interfaith relations have on capacity to organise effectively to address shared concerns or differences, and more broadly, notions and practices of citizenship
- Research Report
Download the Trust In Crisis Report.
- Events, Talks and Presentations
7-8 December 2017. Talk on Trust and Europe's Crisis of Representation: An Interdisciplinary Workshop (Woolf Institute)
16-17 April 2016. Experiencing Differences and Diversities in Contemporary Germany (Humboldt University)
26 October 2015. Trust in Religious Leadership [part of The Trust Panel Series] (Clothworkers' Hall, London)
27 May 2015. Trust in Business [part of The Trust Panel Series] (Barclays, Churchill Place, London)
21 January 2015. Trust in Public Life [part of The Trust Panel Series] (House of Lords)
- Publications
2017. Cohen, Shana, Fuhr, Christina and Bock, Jan-Jonathan (eds.). Austerity, Community Action and the Future of Citizenship in Europe (Policy Press)
- Blog posts
2017. Bock, Jan-Jonathan. 'What's Trust Got to Do With It?'
2017. Bock, Jan-Jonathan. 'Migration, Populism and the State in East Germany'
2017. Everett, Samuel. 'French Presidential Election (2nd round special): What will Macron and Le Pen Do Regarding Religion in France?'
2017. Everett, Samuel. 'Paris and London Face to Face'
2016. Everett, Samuel. 'Inclusive Christmas - Exclusive Laïcité'
2016. Bock, Jan-Jonathan. 'Transitanti Migrants and Paradoxical Statehood in Italy'
2016. Bock, Jan-Jonathan. 'Germany Struggles with Diversity'
2016. Fuhr, Christina. 'Crisis in Berlin and Paris'
2016. Bock, Jan-Jonathan. 'Refugees Experience Diversity Through Local Museums'
2015. Bock, Jan-Jonathan. 'Refugees in Germany: Learning from Berlin?'
2015. Thorogood, Neil. 'Trust in Religious Leadership'
2015. Blair, Ian. 'The Trust Panel Series'
2015. Everett, Samuel. 'Minority Religious Identity, the Military and the European Citizen'
2015. Miské, Karim (trans. Samuel Everett). 'Jews and Muslims: Intimate Strangers'
2014. Fuhr, Christina. 'Austerity and Our Social Future'
- Other Writings
2016, Bock, Jan-Jonathan. 'Wie mit Pegida alles anfing' (Der Tagesspeigel)
2016. Cohen, Shana, Bock, Jan-Jonathan & Everett, Samuel. 'Urban Activists are Forging Diverse Communities in a Divided Europe - Here's How' (The Conversation)
- Videos
Bock, Jan-Jonathan. Crisis in Berlin