Political Communication and Public Trust in Government Institutions in Nepal

 Abstract

A key element of a well-functioning democracy is public confidence in government institutions. To ensure accountability of government and public institutions is very necessary. Accountability and trustworthiness can be maintained only through transparent communication. This qualitative study examines the relationship between political communication and people’s trust on government and public institutions in Nepal. Data was collected using a semi-structured individual Vox-pop with 42 respondents and five key informant interviews (KII) with journalists, political communication expert media educators and public officials. The results demonstrate that the degree of transparency, consistency and accessibility of political communication is a good predictor of public trust. Regular, honest and clear information received from government institutions was shown to be significantly associated with citizens’ trust in those institutions. On the negative side, poor service delivery, lack of transparency in information, political or other bias in media and poor communication during crisis were associated with decreased trust and distrust. The study finds that to strengthen and restore public trust in the government institutions of Nepal, it is essential to improve the quality and honesty of political communication. It is recommended that government officials be trained in communication, independent and fair media be promoted and digital platforms be used for communication to a larger number of people.