Trust

Abstract

This chapter discusses the role of trust in the governance of relations. First, it clarifies the notion and the different forms of trust: its different levels, such as individual, organization and wider system, and the difference between trust in competence and in intentions. Second, it briefly traces the discussion of associated morality and ethics in the history of philosophy. Third, it considers the different sources, within and outside the relation, of trustworthiness and the difference between reliability and trustworthiness. The resulting table can be used for governance, the diagnosis and design of relationships and for analysing differences between countries. Fourth, it discusses the perspective of ‘relational signalling’ and mind frames in building and breaking trust. Concerning control, it discusses the relatively recent approach of ‘horizontal control’.