The downside of trust

While flicking through my Sunday papers (and by flicking naturally I mean clicking), I came across an interesting article about the wave of protest we have seen since the start of the Arab Spring in 2010. Among the very many reasons they cite for the new rise in protest, one is about the correlation between trust for a states institution and the likelihood that the nation will take to the streets in action.

The article cites the Edelman Global Trust Barometer as the current reason for the protests in Brazil, because ironically, currently in Brazil, youth unemployment is low and living standards have been significantly raised, but the trust in the government institutions is very low.

When applied to Iran this theory could provide interesting insight to the fate of the new Iranian government. What has been noticeably obvious is the lack of protest following the elections despite the fact that until now (granted only a week has passed) no major action has taken place aside from some heavy rhetoric. This is in direct contrast to 2009 - meaning that the people must have trusted in the system and the so called fairness of said elections (I say so called because at the end of the day the candidates were still handpicked by the Ayatollah).  More interesting perhaps is to what extent the openness of the internet affected this rise in trust, perhaps the next research for Edelman Global Trust Barometer.

Concerning in all of this is that if protest is a matter of trust in a system, and this government is trusted what will this mean for the overall human rights of the Iranian citizen? The nuclear program and harsh religious boundaries are controlled by the Ayatollah and not the president, which means that I am not hopeful that there will be any major changes soon. Additionally as long as the sanctions are still in place the dire  humanitarian situation will only continue in its downward spiral. So will trust in the new government mean an end to action and protest? Or can we hope that other factors of protest will outweigh the trust and bring people to the streets to ensure that their rights are guaranteed?