Political Mistrust Among African Americans and Support for the Political System

Abstract

Recent research argues that political mistrust among African Americans represents unhappiness with the political system. To date, however, no study has directly examined the influence of black mistrust on support for the system. In this study I show that greater mistrust among blacks leads to greater support for change in the party and electoral systems. I also find evidence of inter-racial differences in the influence of mistrust on support for the political system. These findings have implications for our understanding of the nature of political trust and add to a growing literature demonstrating the political consequences of mistrust in government.