WHY TRUST? WHY DISTRUST?

In this commentary on Trustscapes…, The American University in Bulgaria Case section is praised. Its rich description of how those working to build a new university, who came from societies with different levels of generalized trust, struggle to create an organization with structures, policies and practices that reflect their own propensities to trust or distrust. The Case generated extended discussion of the power of distrust, governments’ roles in the production of trust and distrust, and how individuals seek to make sense of the multiple conflicting cues regarding whether to trust or distrust in their organizational settings.