European Comparative Politics Paper

You need to explain how political trust (or distrust) influences protest participation by comparing France and Germany. Your main argument is that when people lose trust in political institutions, they may not simply stop participating in politics—instead, they may turn to protests, especially if they feel that institutions do not listen to them.
You compare France and Germany as similar democratic countries, while examining why distrust seems to translate into protest more strongly in France. The paper focuses on two main mechanisms: political grievances and political efficacy—basically, people become dissatisfied with institutions and may feel that normal political channels cannot create change.

Your hypotheses are:

H1: Lower political trust increases the likelihood of protest.
H2: This happens through political grievances and reduced political efficacy.
H3: The relationship between distrust and protest is stronger in France than in Germany.