Greece: Attitudinal, Behavioral, and Representational Trust and Legitimacy in the Greek Multilevel Democracy
摘要
This chapter focuses on Greece to provide a case study investigation of trust in institutions, modes of political participation, and perceptions of representation through the lens of Multi-Level Governance. Drawing on data from the 2024 ActEU survey, we present overall and subgroup-specific estimates. By anchoring Greece against the EU mean, the analysis positions the country as a low-trust polity, with trust in domestic institutions being consistently lower than in other European countries. Conversely, trust in EU institutions sits above the EU-wide mean, suggesting a compensation mechanism. Greeks report widespread disillusionment with their descriptive and policy representation across the board. Yet, they remain more engaged in politics than other Europeans, often through collective and confrontational modes of participation. Crucially, the association of trust and habitual voting is conditional on the level of governance: at the national level, trust correlates with higher turnout. Overall, the Greek case underscores the need to conceptualize trust through a multilevel framework and account for the institutional and political context. The chapter closes by outlining policy recommendations.