In states we trust: The evolution and decline of trusting relationships in the United States, 1776--1860, and the European Community, 1950--1986

As Karl Deutsch pointed out over 40 years ago, trust is the cement upon which peaceful relations are built. Yet, all too often our efforts to achieve peace are confounded by an inability to overcome suspicion between parties. Under what conditions and through what processes do trusting interstate relationships emerge between interstate rivals? What causes these relationships to dissolve? Using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, I examine these questions through an analysis of the formative periods in the United States, 1776--1860, and the European Community, 1950--1986. I find that trust emerges when states design institutions that guarantee them voice in group decisions and when leaders insulate each other from domestic political pressures. Leaders must also share an in-group identity. Trusting relationships dissolve when these factors are undermined, as they were in the United States prior to the Civil War.