The working group investigates the role of knowledge and knowledge-based institutions (epistemic authorities) for the emergence of trust and mistrust in social conflicts. Knowledge about the preferences of others, but also about the social and natural world, is an essential resource for managing conflicts productively. Where knowledge is shared, trust develops and stabilizes. However, this stabilizing power itself depends on epistemic trust, the exact form and role of which has yet to be determined by the working group’s research.
