How perceived red tape in freedom of information processing shapes public servants' trust in citizens: Evidence from Slovakia and Croatia

Freedom of information (FOI) requests are a central mechanism for providing citizens with information aboutgovernment operations. However, the operational burdens these requests place on public servants and theirimplications remain underexplored. Conceptualizing FOI requests through a red tape perspective, we examineperceived compliance burdens and dysfunction related to FOI processing among public servants. We argue thatpublic servants' perception of red tape in the processing of FOI requests is negatively associated with their trust incitizens. This association is partially mediated by negative associations with public servants' beliefs that citizenstrust them. To examine this, we use unique survey data collected from public servants dealing with FOI requestsin Croatia (n = 1547) and Slovakia (n = 2188). Using structural equation models, we find that perceived FOIdysfunction, but not perceived compliance burden, is negatively associated with trust in citizens both directlyand indirectly through public servants' perceptions of being trusted by citizens. The findings emphasize the needfor considering public servants' attitudes toward government transparency processes, and the impact such atti-tudes may have on state-citizen relationships.