Does participation have an impact on transparency and trust? A local government case

The impact of transparency and participation on trust has been addressed in various studies. It is generally accepted that citizens’ trust in governments and public administrations increases when transparency and participation increase (Kiss et al., 2022). Unlike the others, this study aims to reveal the mediating effect of participation in the relationship between transparency and trust at the local government level. For this purpose, the data collected from citizens in the Uşak province of Turkey were analyzed using structural equation modeling. First, as in many studies, the results reveal a positive and statistically significant effect of transparency and participation on trust. When the results regarding the mediating effect of participation, which constitutes the focus of the study, are examined, it is seen that this effect is partially realized. In other words, in our sample, participation, to some extent, increases citizens’ perception of transparency, which contributes positively to citizens’ trust in local government units. The low mediation effect in our study can be attributed primarily to the current democratic and political-cultural structure and the inability to operate democratic governance and active citizenship mechanisms properly.