Trust in Public and Political Institutions: What Nepali Citizen Says?

The trust in public and political institutions is an indication of democratic governance which is receiving growing attention in governance research internationally. The legitimacy of public and political institutions is heavily reliant on citizen trust which is critical for a healthy democracy in a nation. In this regard, this study aimed to examine the pattern of citizen trust in public and political institutions of Nepal. The data used in this study was taken from a Nepal National Governance Survey 2017/18 and data were analyzed by applying an ordered logit model. The main findings of this study have shown that public trust in public and political institutions is not satisfactory. Citizens' trust in political institutions is relatively low compared to public institutions. Citizens have a low level of trust in ministers, political parties and parliamentarians. This indicates that citizens are not satisfied with the performance, actions, and behavior of the political institutions. Compared to political institutions, citizens have more trust in public institutions. Some public institutions have attracted a relatively high level of citizens' trust, while others have a low level of trust. Public institutions such as the army and the media have a higher level of citizen trust, while police and civil servants/bureaucrats have a lower level of citizen trust. This has shown that the army and the media are the most trusted and the police and civil servants/ bureaucrats are the least trusted public institution in Nepal. It has shown that citizens are quite satisfied with the performance of the army and the media than the police and the servants/bureaucrats. It is interesting to note that citizens' trust in public and political institutions is also positively and negatively influenced by demographics, social associations, and other variables.