Important Personal Values and Other Variables Determining Trust in the UN among European Peoples

Year 2025, Volume: 34 Issue: 1, 86 - 101, 11.04.2025

Mücahit Aslan

https://doi.org/10.26650/siyasal.2025.34.1538464

Abstract

The United Nations is becoming increasingly important as we approach a new phase in global governance because of the recent health, security, and economic crises that have emerged since the 2020s. In this conjecture, understanding the factors predicting trust in the UN is imperative. Designed to fill the gap in the relevant literature, this study employs the Eurobarometer 98.2 dataset to conduct a binary logistic regression analysis to measure the impact of personal values on trust in the UN among European peoples. Findings suggest that except for religion, all the values tested in this research are important predictors of trust in the UN. However, based on their higher exp(B) values and Wald statistics, values such as; human rights, equality, solidarity, and respect for the planet are more robust predictors of trust in the UN than values like the rule of law, respect for human life, peace, self-fulfillment, individual freedom, democracy, tolerance, and respect for other cultures. In addition to the personal values mentioned, this research also confirms the robustness of sociotropic and demographic variables such as economic insecurity, satisfaction with the political system, and education. Further research is needed to test the temporal and territorial significance of the findings.

Keywords

Trust in the UN, international institutions, global governance, personal values, European public opinion

References

• Algan, Y., Guriev, S., Papaioannou, E., & Passari, E. (2017). The European Trust Crisis and the rise of populism. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2017(2), 309-400. https://doi.org/l0.1353/eca.2017.0015 google scholar
• Arpino, B., & Obydenkova, A.V. (2019). Democracy and political trust before and after the Great Recession 2008: The European Union and the United Nations. Social Indicators Research, 148(2), 395-415. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-019-02204-x google scholar
• Aslan, M. (2023). Socio-Economic and Regional Determinants of EU Ignorance in Turkiye. Journal of Economy Culture and Society, 68, 20-29. https://doi.org/10.26650/JECS2023-1243897 google scholar
• Brewer, P. R., Aday, S., & Gross, K. (2005). Do americans trust other nations? A panel study. Social Science Quarterly, 86(1), 36-51. https:// doi.org/10.1111/j.0038-4941.2005.00289.x google scholar
• Brewer, P. R., Gross, K., Aday, S., & Willnat, L. (2004, January). International trust and public opinion about world affairs. American Journal of Political Science, 48(1), 93. https://doi.org/10.2307/1519899 google scholar
• Cacciatore, M. A., Meng, J., Reber, B. H., & Boyd, B. (2017). Globalization effects or a growing cultural divide? A three-year comparative analysis of trust predictors in the US and China. Chinese Journal of Communication, 11(1), 45-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750. 2017.1334681 google scholar
• Daskalopoulou, I. (2018). Individual-level evidence on the causal relationship between social trust and Institutional Trust. Social Indicators Research, 144(1), 275-298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-2035-8 google scholar
• Delhey, J., & Welzel, C. (2012). Generalizing trust: How outgroup-trust grows beyond ingroup-trust. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi. org/10.2139/ssrn.2390636 google scholar
• Dellmuth, L. M. (2016). The knowledge gap in world politics: Assessing the sources of citizen awareness of the United Nations Security Council. Review of International Studies, 42(4), 673-700. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0260210515000467 google scholar
• Dellmuth, L. M., & Tallberg, J. (2015). The social legitimacy of international organisations: Interest representation, institutional perfor-mance, and confidence extrapolation in the United Nations. Review of International Studies, 41(3), 451-475. https://doi.org/10. 1017/s0260210514000230 google scholar
• Diven, P. J., & Constantelos, J. (2011). The domestic foundations of confidence in the United Nations. Peace Studies Journal, 4(2). google scholar
• European Commission, Brussels (2023). Eurobarometer 98.2 (2023). GESIS, Cologne . ZA7953 Data file Version 1.0.0, https://doi.org/10. 4232/1.14081 google scholar
• Fukuyama, F., & Held, D. (1996). Democracy and the global order: From the modern state to cosmopolitan governance. Foreign Affairs, 75(4), 136. https://doi.org/10.2307/20047664 google scholar
• Gilbert, D. U., & Behnam, M. (2012). Trust and the United Nations Global Compact. Business & Society, 52(1), 135-169. https://doi. org/10.1177/0007650312459852 google scholar
• Holsti, O. R. (1992). Public opinion and foreign policy: Challenges to the Almond-Lippmann Consensus Mershon Series: Research Programs and debates. International Studies Quarterly, 36(4), 439. https://doi.org/10.2307/2600734 google scholar
• Inglehart, R. (1970). Cognitive Mobilization and European Identity. Comparative Politics, 3(1), 45. https://doi.org/10.2307/421501 google scholar
• Kao, Y.-H., & Sapp, S.G. (2022). The effect of cultural values and Institutional Trust on public perceptions of government use of network surveillance, Technology in Society, 70, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.102047 google scholar
• Karaca, M. (n.d.). Report trust in the united nations, Glocalities. https://glocalities.com/reports/untrust (Accessed: 25 May 2024). google scholar
• Kiratli, O. S. (2020). Together or not? dynamics of public attitudes on UN and NATO. Political Studies, 70(2), 259-280. https://doi.org/10. 1177/0032321720956326 google scholar
• Lamprianou, I., & Charalambous, G. (2018). Cue theory and International Trust in Europe: The EU as a proxy for trust in the UN. International Studies Review, 20(3), 463-488. https://doi.org/10.1093/isr/viy007 google scholar
• Lipps, J., & Schraff, D. (2020). Regional inequality and Institutional Trust in Europe. European Journal of Political Research, 60(4), 892913. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12430 google scholar
• Massou, E., Tsouvelas, G., & Prodromitis, G. (2023). Public Trust, conspiracy theories and political ideology in the covid-19 ERA: A cross-sectional Greek study. Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 8(1), 100715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2023.100715 google scholar
• McKay, L., Jennings, W., & Stoker, G. (2023). What is the geography of trust? the urban-rural trust gap in global perspective. Political Geography, 102, 102863. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2023.102863 google scholar
• Medve-Bâlint, G., & Boda, Z. (2014). The poorer you are, the more you trust? the effect of inequality and income on Institutional Trust in east-Central Europe. Czech Sociological Review, 50(3), 419-454. https://doi.org/10.13060/00380288.2014.50.3.104 google scholar
• Mingo, I., & Faggiano, M. P. (2020). Trust in institutions between objective and subjective determinants: A multilevel analysis in European countries. Soclal Indlcators Research, 151(3), 815-839. https://doi.org/l0.1007/s11205-020-02400-0 google scholar
• Schlipphak, B. (2014). Measuring attitudes toward regional organizations outside Europe. The Review of International Organizations, 10(3), 351-375. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11558-014-9205-5 google scholar
• Stals, L., Isac, M. M., & Claes, E. (2024). Political Trust among European youth: Evaluating multi-dimensionality and cross-national measurement comparability. Studles ln Educatlonal Evaluatlon, 80, 101321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2023.101321 google scholar
• Tallberg, J., & Zürn, M. (2019). The legitimacy and legitimation of International Organizations: Introduction and Framework, The Revlew of Internatlonal Organlzatlons, 14(4), 581-606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11558-018-9330-7 google scholar
• Torgler, B. (2007). Trust in international organizations: An empirical investigation focusing on the United Nations. The Revlew of Internatlonal Organlzatlons, 3(1), 65-93. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11558-007-9022-1 google scholar
• Verhoeven, L., & Ritzen, J. (2023). Globalisation and Trust in Europe between 2002 and 2018. Research ln Globallzatlon, 7, 100142. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.resglo.2023.100142 google scholar
• Zürn, M. (2014). The politicization of world politics and its effects: Eight propositions. European Polltlcal Sclence Revlew, 6(1), 47-71. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1755773912000276 google scholar
• Zürn, M., Binder, M., & Ecker-Ehrhardt, M. (2012). International Authority and its politicization. Internatlonal Theory, 4(1), 69-106. https:// doi.org/10.1017/s1752971912000012 google scholar