Ethnic Fractionalization, Corruption, and Trust in the Courts

Abstract

Prior research has examined the effects of ethnic fractionalization on trust in political institutions. However, most of the literature focuses on a general understanding of political trust, disregarding the relationship between ethnic fractionalization and individual trust in the legal system. I argue that high levels of ethnic fractionalization decrease trust in the courts. To provide empirical support for my theory, I use individual-level survey data from 32 African and Latin American countries from 2013 and I produce two findings. First, using multiple OLS fixed effects regression analysis, I find that ethnic fractionalization decreases trust in the courts. Second, using mediation analysis, I find that ethnic fractionalization indirectly decreases trust in the courts through the mediation effect of corruption. Consequently, ethnic fractionalization is essential to understanding trust in the courts and democratic institutions in general.