This transition in Eastern Europe required negotiations between the leaders of the departing regime and the leaders of the opposition, who were to become the governors under democracy. The agreement regarding the transition will be effective only if the bargaining powers represent real forces in the polity and are trusted by those whom they claim to represent. The link between trust and democracy is multi-dimensional. In democracies, people choose representatives and other kinds of agents, such as bureaucrats and judges, to govern them. The problem is that the voters cannot perfectly control neither of them, so a great amount of discretion is required because the more they can be trusted to fulfill their roles willingly, the less resources are needed to monitor and discipline them. Thus a crucial requirement is one-sided trust in public officials.
Piotr Sztomka gives several ways in which trust contributes to democracy. First of all, he says that democracies require communication and trust facilitates it by helping people speak and listen. Democracies also require tolerance of differences and trust in others is a way to accept their differences rather than perceiving them as a threat. Democracy also implies that people accept some basic rules of interaction. The more people trust others, the more they are willing to play by the rules because they expect others will do the same. Inter-personal trust as well as also trust in political institutions is needed in order to create a healthy atmosphere for political participation. The extent to which people will trust depends on the rule-based character of the state and trust is only present when one believes that the others will follow the same set of rules. Last but not least, in order for people to be responsible citizens, they need information and the sources that provide it should be, therefore, credible. Trust enables governments to make decisions and commit resources without having to resort to coercion to obtain the specific approval of citizens for every decision. Trust is also essential for the establishment of civil society – the institutions, which create a sense of community for the citizens and connect them to the government. Trust in civil institutions is a complementary part to democracy, which enhances the effectiveness of political institutions. Citizens, who are more trustful in other people, are more likely to be volunteer members in different kinds of associations that Tocqueville called “schools of democracy” .

Trust Under Communism
Under communism, trust, as the basic factor facilitating social action, was lacking.