Tasks: Trust in Government

Task 1:

In this task you will find definitions of the words that you looked up in the pre-reading activity for the article 'Trust in Government'. Match each definition to the correct word.

Task 2:

What is the difference in meaning between these words? Write down a definition of each word and explain how the words differ in meaning.

• outbreak

• endemic

• epidemic

• pandemic

Task 3:

Practice your COVID-19 pandemic vocabulary:

1. What did the 'Household Longitudinal Study' discover regarding the connection between vaccination and ethnicity? Has this been a stable trend?

2. The article states that their findings are counter-intuitive. What is meant by that?

3. What does the study state as the main reason for the discrepancy in vaccination rates between ethnic groups?Which other factors are mentioned?

4. What is suggested to be the best way to raise trust between ethnic minorities and policy makers?

After having read and understood the article, what is your reaction to the information that is presented?

1. Do you believe their explanation of vaccine hesitancy is valid? Give reasons for your opinion.

2. Are the results also relevant for Norway? Do we see the same pattern here?

3. How would you increase the population's trust in public institutions?

4. What do you think is the reason why ethnic minorities have a lower trust in public officials than the rest of the population?

5. Is it fair to say that growing inequality can be a barrier to trust?

6. Why is lack of trust in a government a democratic problem?

Choose one or several of the tasks. Share your findings in class.

1. Do you know of any other political scandals – in Norway or abroad – that you believe have diminished trust in politicians? They do not necessarily have to be related to the COVID pandemic.

2. Study the following chart from OECD that shows confidence in the national government. What does this chart tell you? How do you react to the information you find?
   Link to OECD data: Trust in government.

3. Do you think it is fair to say that a country where the people have a high level of trust in their government in general also have a lower COVID infection rate? Do some research and see what you find.

4. The study shows that ethnicity and trust in government are closely related. Find out more about the situation for ethnic minorities in the UK. Look for discrepancies in income, education, unemployment, housing, incarceration rate, health, etc.

5. The article mentions two specific events that may have contributed to lowering the trust in politicians in the UK during the pandemic: corruption in the awarding of PPE contracts and the Downing Street lockdown parties.
   Do some research and find out more about the two scandals. What actually happened?

Who and what do we trust?

Trustlab is a unique project that has assembled data from different OECD countries, mapping the level of trust that people have in each other and in social institutions.

Study the information you find in this link before you answer the questions.

Link to OECD Trustlab

1. What do the different countries have in common with regard to whom they trust?

2. Are there any countries that stand out as more or less trusting? From what you already know about these countries, is there anything that surprises you?

3. Describe the correlation between the level of education people have and how much they trust the government.

4. According to the data, only 17% of people across the countries that were surveyed believe that a parliamentarian would be more likely to reject a bribe than to accept one. What is your reaction to this information?

5. Are these results in any way worrisome? If so, explain why.

6. How do you think Norway would do in this study, compared to other countries.

1. Write an expository essay where you discuss how the lack of trust in government and policy makers has affected the fight against COVID-19. Point to examples from different countries.

2. Write an expository text where you present information about the situation for ethnic minorities in the UK. Then discuss whether you believe their situation may explain the vaccine hesitancy described in the research report.

3. Write an argumentative text where you explain how lack of trust in policy makers can be a threat to democracy. Use examples from different countries.