More Security, More Trust? Security Perceptions as a Source of Government Trust in Post-Conflict Settings

Abstract

How can governments gain the trust of their citizens after civil war? Although previous work has thoroughly considered the drivers of governmental trust, we know relatively little about the role of security perceptions in post-conflict settings. Drawing on data from an original survey fielded with 2000 respondents from Liberia, we show that citizens’ security perceptions shape their trust in government. We also demonstrate that explicit attribution of security to specific institutions is key for linking more effective security governance with more trust. Our findings have significant implications for the design of security institutions and statebuilding in post-conflict settings.