5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

Institutional trust means a firm belief in the reliability, performance, and effectiveness of institutions. It matters to social scientists because it sheds light on state-society relations and is often perceived as an important indicator of good governance and democratic success. Several existing works seek to explore the drivers of political trust, focusing on cultural and institutional theories as well as explanations related to media coverage, and ideology.

Hence, public opinion surveys commonly focus on trust in political and social institutions. According to these surveys, the armed forces are among the most trusted institutions around the world. While this trust may vary across cases and time, it remains relatively high all around, especially compared to other national institutions. Interestingly, high levels of trust in the armed forces transcends regime type.

This interdisciplinary session aims to bring together social scientists with different regional and methodological expertise to discuss the drivers of trust and distrust in the armed forces. It welcomes empirical studies with a comparative or case-specific focus. The sessions will raise several questions, including but not limited to:

• Can trust in the armed forces be seen in the same context as trust in other social and political institutions?
• Does public trust reflect the level of congruence between society and the military (higher trust in the case of conscription, for example)?
• Is high trust in the armed forces a reflection of societal perception of this institution, or is it rather merely a result of statistical measurement?

Format: regular session.