Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
Reveals how trust—built, broken, and rebuilt—shapes the everyday work of frontline public servants and the quality of the relationship between citizens and the state.
Trust at the Ground Level of Government moves beyond abstract theory to show how trust is built, lost, and rebuilt in real-world settings. Drawing on rich narratives and interviews, Maayan Davidovitz and Nissim Cohen demonstrate how trust influences service delivery, client treatment, and the ways frontline, street-level bureaucrats cope with pressure and uncertainty. The book underscores that their trust in those within their work environment may define and shape the delicate relationships between public servants on the front lines and the citizens they serve. The resulting attitudes on both sides may have far-reaching consequences for the fragile relationship between the state and society. Based on six years of fieldwork in Israel, Trust at the Ground Level of Government offers a unique look into the emotional and professional challenges facing these frontline civil servants. It reveals how trust, often taken for granted, can shape decisions, relationships, and ultimately the success or failure of public policies. Whether you are a policymaker, public servant, scholar, or concerned citizen, this book provides new insights into how government functions on the ground and why trust is at the heart of it all.
"Trust is central to human existence, so studying it is not a luxury but a necessity. By focusing on how street level bureaucrats shape and are shaped by trust, the authors provide a roadmap that greatly improves our understanding of modern governance in terms of implementation effectiveness and democratic legitimacy." — Nikolaos Zahariadis, International Studies, Rhodes College
Maayan Davidovitz is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Education, Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Nissim Cohen is Professor of Public Administration and Policy and the head of the School of Political Sciences at the University of Haifa, Israel. He is the author of Policy Entrepreneurship at the Street Level: Understanding the Effect of the Individual.
List of Illustrations
Preface
Introduction
1. Street-Level Bureaucracy
2. Why Trust?
3. The Context
4. Trust and the Citizen-Client
5. Trust and the System
Concluding Remarks
Appendix: Methodology and Field Work
References
Index