Dogan (Mattei) – Political Mistrust and the Discrediting of Politicians – Brill Academic Publishers, 2005

This book, prepared under the auspices of the ISA research committee on Comparative Sociology, focuses on a worldwide phenomenon: political mistrust, observable in almost all countries, in both established democracies and in authoritarian regimes.

But ubiquity does not signify uniformity. The diversity of political regimes generates a multiplicity of forms and intensities of mistrust. Political mistrust seems inherent even in advanced democracies and in semi-democracies, where citizens are better prepared and more prone to criticize the dysfunctions of institutions and condemn the misconduct of politicians. Political mistrust is greatly nourished in many countries by a wide practice of public corruption. Of particular sociological interest is the vulnerability of political elites and of their frequent condemnation to "civil death".

Table of contents

This book is divided into three parts: the first presents continental comparisons: within Europe, within Latin America, and in South Asia. The second part includes chapters on three contrasting cases: Norway, France and Nigeria. The third, deals with dramatic crises of legitimacy in France in May 1968 and in Argentina in 1999-2003. Another chapter analyzes the political scandals. All essays are empirically grounded. All contributors are distinguished comparative scholars: Marita Carballo, William Case, Jean-Pascal Daloz, Mattei Dogan, Trygve Gulbrandsen, Giselle Jamisson, Sighard Neckel, Timothy Power and Frederik Turner.

Mattei Dogan, Ph.D., Sorbonne, is Honorary Research Director of National Center of Scientific Research, Paris and former Professor of Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles. His many articles and books include Comparing Nations: Concepts, Strategies and Substance (Blackwell, 1994), Elites, Crises and the Origins of Regimes (Rowman and Littlefield, 1998) and Elite Configurations at the Apex of Power (Brill, 2003). He is author or editor of 35 books and of many articles in academic journals.