56
3 Social Forces
Fig. 3.8 Illustration of how power results from trust and transparency
to the revelations concerning mass surveillance by the National Security Agency
(NSA) has substantially reduced their business volume.
66
Trust is also the basis of power and legitimacy. When I studied in Göttingen,
Germany, a deadly car accident caused by a mistake of the police triggered a large
public outcry and massive demonstrations. This was the first time when I noticed that
public institutions can easily lose public support. In other words, they can easily lose
social capital. Trust is eroded whenever authorities do something that is contrary to
the moral beliefs of the public. I made a similar observation in Zurich, Switzerland,
when many people complained about the policies of the migration office. During this
time, the windows of the migration office were repeatedly smashed in, but when the
director was replaced, the problem disappeared.
It is very interesting that “soft” factors such as credibility, transparency and trust
are the basis of public support and power (see Fig. 3.8). For example, the London Riots
of 2011 occurred after a person was shot by the police, but no sufficient justification
was given to the public. Something similar happened in 2014 in the city of Ferguson,
Missouri, and 2015 in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. In fact, riots in many other
countries were triggered by events where public authorities lost legitimacy in the
eyes of the public. The Arab spring, for example, started in Tunisia, after Mohamed
Bouazizi burnt himself to death to protest against police corruption and brutality.
66 See also 4 Ways that Mass Surveillance Destroys the Economy, https://web.archive.org/web/201
41207003757/, https://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/06/surveillance-makes-us-poor.html.
3 Social Forces
Fig. 3.8 Illustration of how power results from trust and transparency
to the revelations concerning mass surveillance by the National Security Agency
(NSA) has substantially reduced their business volume.
66
Trust is also the basis of power and legitimacy. When I studied in Göttingen,
Germany, a deadly car accident caused by a mistake of the police triggered a large
public outcry and massive demonstrations. This was the first time when I noticed that
public institutions can easily lose public support. In other words, they can easily lose
social capital. Trust is eroded whenever authorities do something that is contrary to
the moral beliefs of the public. I made a similar observation in Zurich, Switzerland,
when many people complained about the policies of the migration office. During this
time, the windows of the migration office were repeatedly smashed in, but when the
director was replaced, the problem disappeared.
It is very interesting that “soft” factors such as credibility, transparency and trust
are the basis of public support and power (see Fig. 3.8). For example, the London Riots
of 2011 occurred after a person was shot by the police, but no sufficient justification
was given to the public. Something similar happened in 2014 in the city of Ferguson,
Missouri, and 2015 in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. In fact, riots in many other
countries were triggered by events where public authorities lost legitimacy in the
eyes of the public. The Arab spring, for example, started in Tunisia, after Mohamed
Bouazizi burnt himself to death to protest against police corruption and brutality.
66 See also 4 Ways that Mass Surveillance Destroys the Economy, https://web.archive.org/web/201
41207003757/, https://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/06/surveillance-makes-us-poor.html.