Nexus Between Citizens’ Trust and Good Governance in Public Institutions of South Asia

Abstract

Public institutions are essential for executing government policies. Citizens’ trust in public institutions is a crucial factor to consider when assessing the state of democracy. Working processes, trends, organisational principles, neutrality, approaches and impartiality are also used to assess an institution’s trustworthiness. Failing to satisfy any of these indicators can create distrust. Good governance is essential for every country to move forward and attain its development goals. For most countries in South Asia, governance is not in a good condition, with government institutions struggling to perform satisfactorily. In this situation, distrust may be fostered among citizens with limited conviction in democracy and diminish the reliability of public institutions. By taking these issues into account, this article uses secondary literature to evaluate the level of trust in the public institutions of South Asian States with a distinct emphasis on good governance.