The trust Index is an average of trust in the institutions of government, business, media and NGOs. According to numerous studies, public and political institutions, law enforcement agencies, etc. can be created and can work effectively if the level of mutual trust between individuals and within institutions is high, and if a country’s economic prosperity, individuals’ personal security, and protection are guaranteed. In the situation of trust crisis, the exact opposite process takes place, and the low level of the trust index in all areas leads to defeat and the disintegration of societies. It is clear that nothing can be created among people, as well as in a crisis of trust in public institutions.

In 2018, opinion polls were conducted in a number of countries on whether the majority of people could be trusted. In different countries the results were different. For example, in Russia, 28% of respondents answered in the affirmative, in Poland - 22%, in Japan - 36%, in China and Sweden - 60% each. The trust level is generally high in the Scandinavian countries. They often do not even sign a contract for a business agreement, oral agreement is already a basis for joint activities. As a rule, the trust coefficient is also high within closed and conservative communities, where the factor of public reproach is high.

In 2018, a number of countries conducted opinion polls on whether the majority of people can be trusted. The picture was different in different countries.

We do not have data on such a study in Armenia, but it is not difficult to guess that the level of trust should be quite low, especially in the state, law enforcement system, political structures, and after the change of government in 2018, also in non-governmental organizations.  The reason for the latter can also be explained: many representatives of NGOs entered the parliament, and the government after 2018, and a significant part became supporters of the current government.

As the convergence of business and power destroys the state, the same can be said of the convergence of non-governmental organizations and the government. The deepening of mutual enmity in social networks and the press is similarly added to this situation, reducing the phenomenon of mistrust and enmity to the level of interpersonal relations.

This is a drastic crisis that we have been facing for many years, but the war has made it even worse. We compensated for our collective qualities with a national tragedy, but, unfortunately, we did not draw any conclusions and, as a result, the chasm of mutual trust began to deepen faster.

The time might have come for us to stop, and try to understand why we do not trust each other and what needs to be changed to establish a proper level of trust in each other, without which it will not be possible to stop our decline.