Trust towards Administrative Institutions among Youth in Turkey: the Case of Konya

The concept of trust is one of the important signs of living together and a reflection of one’s feelings about social others. Although social, administrative and political consequences of the concept has been a subject of research, there is an increase in the attention paid to the concept after Putnam’s inclusion of trust as one of the component of social capital. The concept of trust is defined very differently in different social science disciplines and therefore there is no consensus on a single definition. Coleman has defined the concept as ‘decision to cooperate under uncertainity’ while Hardin defines it ‘interconnected interests’. According to Braun, trust is a characteristic of a the relationship between two people. Miller and Listhaug defines the concet as a summary of those attitudes that political system will be responsive even when there is no permanent survelliance. Since trust towards public institutions is an abstract concept, it is difficult to measure it. In the literature, there are different theories about the source of trust and its determining factors as well as its explanations. Trust emerges from the legitimacy of administrative-political system, specific experiences of public insitutions and services and the dynamic interaction between these two factors. Further, the volatility of public opinion about public institutions and cognitive chaos makes research about the concept of trust more problematic. Young people are most dynamic actors of social and political life. Notwithstanding their dynamism, recent research shows that among youth there is a decrease in interest and trust towards political and social life. This study aims to understand the level of trust among youth in Turkey towards social, administrative and political institutions. The study utilizes Uslaner’s three dimensional classification and defines trust as ‘trust towards institutions’. A survey has been conducted among mainly university students in Konya to determine their level of trust towards institutions. The study uses data from a 2012-2013 Project to increase political participation of youth and supported by the Ministry of Turkish Youth.