Illiberal Distrust: A Threat Old and New
Abstract
The rise in partisan conspiracy theory and claims of government “fraud” has ignited the need to clarify the proper role of political distrust in the American context. I argue that the inheritance of American liberalism is more complicated on the issue of distrust than often supposed. The Federalist tradition, in particular, does not value distrust in all of its forms, and it is crucial to separate warranted from unwarranted forms. Borrowing the term from Alexander Hamilton, I discuss the unwarranted form, “illiberal distrust,” and describe its contemporary forms as well as its dangers.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Political Theory and Democracy
American Constitutional Law and Politics
Misinformation and Its Impacts
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Perspectives on Political Science
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 97–104
- Publication date
- 12 March 2026
- Language
- EN