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Abstract

In liberal welfare states, algorithmic decision-making systems are being increasingly deployed, impacting the citizen–state relationship in a multitude of positive and negative ways. This theoretical paper aims to develop a novel conceptual model—the institutional trust model—to analyse how the implementation of automated systems erodes or strengthens institutional trust between policymakers and citizens. In this approach, institutional trust does not simply mean public trust in institutions (though it is an important component of democratic societies); instead, it refers to the responsive interactions between governmental institutions and citizens. Currently, very little is known about policymakers’ trust or distrust in automated systems and how their trust or distrust in citizens is reflected in their interest in implementing these systems in public administration. By analysing a sample of recent studies on automated decision-making, we explored the potential of the institutional trust model to identify how the four dimensions of trust can be used to explore the responsive relationship between citizens and the state. This article contributes to the formulation of research questions on automated decision-making in the future, underlining that the impact of automated systems on the socio-economic rights of marginalised citizens in public services and the policymakers’ motivations to deploy automated systems have been overlooked.

Details

1009240
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Title
Building and Eroding the Citizen–State Relationship in the Era of Algorithmic Decision-Making: Towards a New Conceptual Model of Institutional Trust
Author
Parviainen, Jaana 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Koski, Anne 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Eilola, Laura 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Palukka, Hannele 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Alanen, Paula 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Lindholm, Camilla 4 

 Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, FI-33520 Tampere, Finland; [email protected] (A.K.); [email protected] (H.P.) 
 Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Tampere University, FI-33520 Tampere, Finland; [email protected] 
 Faculty of Education and Culture, Tampere University, FI-33520 Tampere, Finland; [email protected] 
 Department of Finnish, Finno-Ugrian and Scandinavian Studies, University of Helsinki, 4, FI-00100 Helsinki, Finland; [email protected] 
Publication title
Volume
14
Issue
3
First page
178
Publication year
2025
Publication date
2025
Publisher
MDPI AG
Place of publication
Basel
Country of publication
Switzerland
e-ISSN
20760760
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
Document type
Journal Article
Publication history
 
 
Online publication date
2025-03-17
Milestone dates
2024-08-14 (Received); 2025-03-07 (Accepted)
Publication history
 
 
   First posting date
17 Mar 2025
ProQuest document ID
3181691452
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/building-eroding-citizen-state-relationship-era/docview/3181691452/se-2?accountid=208611
Copyright
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.
Last updated
2025-11-07
Database
ProQuest One Academic