Living in an Age of Mistrust

<p>Trust is a concept familiar to most. Whether we are cognizant of it or not we experience it on a daily basis. Yet trust is quickly eroding in civic and political life. Americans’ trust in their government has reached all-time lows. The political and social consequences of this decline in trust are profound. What are the foundations of trust? What explains its apparent decline in society? Is there a way forward for rebuilding trust in our leaders and institutions? How should we study the role of trust across a diverse range of policy issues and problems? </p><p>Given its complexity trust as an object of study cannot be claimed by any single discipline. Rather than vouch for an overarching theory of trust<i> Living in an Age of Mistrust</i> synthesizes existing perspectives across multiple disciplines to offer a truly comprehensive examination of this concept and a topic of research. Using an analytical framework that encompasses rational and cultural (or sociological) dimensions of trust the contributions found therein provide a wide range of policy issues both domestic and international to explore the apparent decline in trust its impact on social and political life and efforts to rebuild trust.</p>