Keywords: Trust in Government, Public Trust, Iran, Parliament, Judiciary, Islamic Republic, Guardian Regimes, Theocracy, Regime Favorability, Institutional Legitimacy, Demographic Behavior, Economic Determinants of Trust, Public Services and Trust

Public trust in government is crucial for the stability and efficiency of any political system. In an era of global skepticism towards public institutions, scholars continually seek to identify the key factors— demographic, social, economic, and institutional—that shape public trust in government. Previous re- search has focused extensively on measuring trust in countries with a recent history of democratic governance, such as South Korea, Japan, Norway, and Brazil. Building on this body of work, this study shifts the focus to Iran and its hybrid system. Through the use of regression models and cross tabulation of data, this paper aims to answer: what factors—such as satisfaction with public services, political, religious, and economic perceptions, or demographic factors like age, gender, and settlement size—affect Iranians’ trust in the various government institutions, namely the president, parliament, local councils, judiciary, military, police, and IRGC? How do these findings in Iran compare with other countries previously studied? To address this research question, this study uses 2021 data from the University of Maryland Center for Security Studies (CISSM) and the 2020 World Values Survey on Iran. The surveys used are nationally representative and probability-based, with stratified sampling by province.

This study finds that, apart from religion, personal utility factors—such as economic conditions, satis- faction with healthcare services, the government’s COVID-19 response, and personal living conditions— are the strongest predictors of trust, as indicated by their coefficient magnitudes and pseudo R2 values. Demographic factors such as gender, age, settlement size, and ethnicity had minimal relevance. Surprisingly, despite Iran’s distinct government context, the factors shaping institutional trust resemble those in democratic countries such as Japan, South Korea, Brazil, and South Africa. Furthermore, the in- significance of demographic factors suggests that trust in the Islamic Republic of Iran is more nuanced than a simple reaction to political oppression. Marginalized groups—such as women, youth, and ethnic minorities—do not consistently show lower levels of trust in the government. These findings suggest that trust in government is perceived by Iranians as a pragmatic concept, rather than something rooted in abstract ideals. The statistical significance of utility variables indicates that trust operates like a commodity that the government can “purchase” through actions that improve citizens’ personal utility. Therefore, the Islamic Republic can build trust by focusing on material and social needs, without necessarily addressing freedom-related grievances. These findings from Iran and other countries indicate that, as globalization shapes expectations of governance, trust is increasingly driven by universal needs—such as security, economic stability, and well-being—suggesting that humans across the globe may be prioritizing tangible outcomes over political ideologies.