Abstract

Ethical leadership and institutional trust are fundamental to the stability legitimacy and effectiveness of democratic governance. In democratic societies public confidence depends not only on the formal functioning of institutions but also on citizens’ perceptions of integrity fairness transparency accountability responsiveness and respect for the rule of law. In recent years political polarisation corruption concerns misinformation declining confidence in political institutions and perceptions of ineffective governance have created significant challenges for institutional trust. This paper examines the relationship between ethical leadership and public confidence in democratic institutions with particular attention to transparency accountability fairness participation integrity and institutional responsiveness. The study adopts a qualitative research design based on secondary sources including recent scholarly literature international governance reports and institutional assessments.