Research interests
I study how we feel about others, and why we feel that way.
Much of my research is concerned with trust and friendship between both individuals and groups. My existing work has examined how attitudes toward ethnic outgroups affect generalised trust, and how language impacts trust and post-conflict reconciliation. I also have a strong interest in language differences and language policy. As part of the DIVIDENDS project, I examined how age structure affects trust, conflict and political participation, and in my current role I am studying the determinants of attitudes towards refugees, particularly the role of social media.
My peer-reviewed journal articles are listed below. To see my other outputs (conference papers, papers in development, et cetera) please check out my CV.
Peer-reviewed publications
Kumove, Michael. “Political crisis and social trust: The case of Australia”, Australian Journal of Political Science, forthcoming.
Kumove, Michael. “Take Five? Testing the cultural and experiential theories of generalised trust against five criteria”, Political Studies, OnlineFirst (2024). [Download manuscript] [Journal link]
Kumove, Michael. “Rent-free in your head? How generalised trust is affected by the trust and salience of outgroups”, Social Indicators Research 166, 575-600 (2023) . [Download manuscript] [Journal link]
Kumove, Michael. “Does language foster reconciliation? Evidence from the former Yugoslavia”, Journal of Conflict Resolution 66, no. 4-5 (May 2022). [Download manuscript] [Journal link]
Kumove, Michael. “Diversity, semi-communication and cross-country trust: A quantitative analysis”, Social Science Research 86 (February 2020), 102392. [Download manuscript] [Journal link]
PhD thesis
My PhD thesis examined the links between language, communication and social trust. There is already a lot of research on the reasons why ethnic or linguistic groups might trust or distrust each other. For instance, the well-known “contact hypothesis” suggests that social interaction improves cross-group attitudes. But there has been surprisingly little research on how cross-group communication ability could improve trust. Do groups which can communicate more easily also trust each other more, regardless of their cultural differences, linguistic identities or historical experiences? If so, what are the reasons for that? These are the central questions of my thesis.