Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-cphqk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-10T10:03:50.239Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

After Utøya: How a High-Trust Society Reacts to Terror—Trust and Civic Engagement in the Aftermath of July 22

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2012

Dag Wollebæk ,
Bernard Enjolras ,
Kari Steen-Johnsen  and
Guro Ødegård
Dag Wollebæk
Affiliation:
UNI Rokkan Center
Bernard Enjolras
Affiliation:
Institute for Social Research
Kari Steen-Johnsen
Affiliation:
Institute for Social Research
Guro Ødegård
Affiliation:
Institute for Social Research
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The article examines short-term effects of terror on trust and civic engagement in Norway. Prior to the July 22, 2011 attacks, Norway ranked among the nations with the highest levels of trust and civic engagement in the world. How does a nation of trusters react to terror? Based on two web surveys conducted in March/April 2011 and August 2011 short-term effects on trust, fear, and political interest and participation are analyzed. Two competing hypotheses are explored: first, the “end-of-innocence hypothesis,” which assumes that the attacks have disrupted trust and instilled a new culture of fear, and second, the “remobilization hypothesis,” which assumes that the attacks have led to a reinforcement of trust and of civic values. Our results show increased interpersonal and institutional trust as well as a modest increase in civic engagement, especially among youth. Moreover, there is little increase in experienced fear within the population. Our study therefore supports the remobilization-of-trust hypothesis. Contrary to the intended aims of the attacker, the structures of trust and civic engagement seem to have been reinforced in Norwegian society. This study in part corroborates findings concerning short-term effects after September 11, 2001.

Type
Spotlight
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 32 - 37
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Catterberg, Gabriela, and Moreno, Alejandro. 2005. “The Individual Bases of Political Trust: Trends in New and Established Democracies.” International Journal of Public Opinion Research 18 (1): 31–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chanley, Virginia A. 2002. “Trust in Government in the Aftermath of 9/11: Determinants and Consequences.” Political Psychology 23 (3): 469–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delhey, Jan, and Newton, Kenneth. 2005. “Predicting Cross-National Levels of Social Trust: Global Pattern or Nordic Exceptionalism?” European Sociological Review 21 (4): 311–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuhnle, Stein, and Selle, Per. 1992. “Government and Voluntary Organizations: A Relational Perspective.” In Government and Voluntary Organizations, eds. Kuhnle, Stein and Selle, Per. Aldershot: Avebury.Google Scholar
Lewis, Carol W. 2000. “The Terror That Failed: Public Opinion in the Aftermath of the Bombing in Oklahoma City.” Public Administration Review 60 (3): 201–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mannheim, Karl. 1980 (1928). “The Problem of Generation.” [Das Problem der Generationen]. In Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge, ed. Kecskemeti, Paul. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Putnam, Robert D. 2002. “Bowling Together.” American Prospect (February 11): 20–23.Google Scholar
Rappoport, Leon. 2005. Punchlines: The Case for Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Humor. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.Google Scholar
Sander, T. H., and Putnam, Robert D.. 2010. “Still Bowling Alone? The Post-9/11 Split.” Journal of Democracy 21 (1): 9–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SSB. 2011. IKT-bruk i husholdningene, 2. Kvartal 2011 [Household Use of ICT, 2nd Quarter 2011]. Oslo: Statistisk Sentralbyrå [Central Bureau of Statistics].Google Scholar
Trägårdh, Lars, Blennberg, Erik, Bråkenhielm, Carl Reinhold, Grosse, Julia, Lundåsen, Susanne, and Pettersson, Thorleif. 2009. Tillit i det moderna Sverige: Den dumme svensken och andra mysterier [Trust in Modern Sweden: “The Dumb Swede” and Other Mysteries]. Stockholm: SNS Förlag.Google Scholar
Traugott, Michael, Brader, Ted, Coral, Deborah, et al. 2002. “How Americans Responded: A Study of Public Reactions to 9/11/01.” PS: Political Science & Politics 34: 511–16.Google Scholar
Uslaner, Eric M. 2002. The Moral Foundations of Trust. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wollebæk, Dag. 2011. “Norge Og Nordens Sosiale Kapital I Europeisk Kontekst.” In Sosial kapital i Norge [Social Capital in Norway], eds. Wollebæk, Dag and Segaard, Signe B.. Oslo: Cappelen Damm.Google Scholar