The Effects of Different Types of Sectarian Violence on Trust in State- and Societal Institutions: Evidence from Egypt

In ethnic violence research, scholars tend to lump together different forms of ethnic violence. Prominent scholars have argued that this strategy is insufficient to understand the causes of violence, thus calling for disaggregation. Extending the argument, I argue that we also need to disaggregate violence in order to understand its implications. Drawing on survey data from the Arab Barometer and sectarian events data, this thesis investigates the effect of events of anti-Christian violence in Egypt on trust in state- and societal institutions. Disaggregating sectarian events into beatings, bombings, and burnings based on level of arms used and target of the attack, I find that beatings lead to decreased trust in courts and legal system, parliament, and religious leaders; bombings lead to increased trust in the army and courts and legal system; and that burnings lead to decreased trust in courts and legal system. Surprisingly, Christians appear to be positively affected by violence in particular cases. As discovered in this thesis, different types of sectarian violence arguably shape Egyptian citizens’ trust in state- and societal institutions, thus supporting the disaggregation argument. I therefore propose that other scholars should apply this disaggregation approach when investigating the effects of ethnic violence on political attitudes.