GPS Presents Professor Danielle Gilbert (US Air Force Academy) "“Trust a Few: The Political Consequences of Wartime Violence"

February 25, 2022 - 12:00pm to 1:30pm

 

Abstract: How does wartime violence affect trust? Existing research on the political consequences of violence is remarkably split: while some scholars argue that political violence generates prosocial behaviors and beliefs (like increased political participation and sentiments of reconciliation), others argue that violence generates antisocial behaviors (like decreased political participation and feelings of revenge). In particular, while most studies on the consequences of war demonstrate an increase in prosocial behavior, studies that focus on social trust show contradictory or null results. We argue that these mixed findings derive from a conflation in much of the literature of in-group and out-group trust, which we expect to diverge during conflict. Moreover, we expect that the effects of war on trust will differ by the relationship of research subjects to violence—whether subjects experienced violence personally and directly, or whether their experience of violence was indirect, experienced by their family, community, or society. Using a meta-analysis of 27 studies on the effects of violence on trust, we show that disaggregating these categories matters. Understanding the variation in the political consequences of wartime violence has important implications for broader societal phenomena, including durable peace, reconciliation, and democratic consolidation.

Location and Address

4500 WW Posvar Hall