A/HRC/25/58 stemming from imagined threats and aggressiveness stemming from the pretence of one’s own collective superiority. 2. Aggravating political circumstances (a) Endemic corruption 25. The likelihood of collective manifestations of religious hatred largely depends on the general climate, and the overall context, of a society. One widespread negatively contributing factor is that of endemic corruption, that is, corruption pervading a society to such a degree that it largely shapes social interaction and expectations in general. In a country in which people experience corruption as affecting all sectors of societal life, they can hardly develop a reasonable trust in the fair functioning of public institutions. However, public institutions play an indispensable role in facilitating the peaceful coexistence of people of diverse religious and belief-related orientations. Without reasonable trust in public institutions, a public space to which everyone has equal access and in which religious, philosophical, ethical and political pluralism may freely unfold cannot be sustained. Moreover, persons living in a society characterized by endemic corruption may not have many alternatives to organizing their lives within their own more or less narrow networks, groups or communities. This can foster an inward-looking mentality, in which people strongly cling to their own groupings while largely avoiding meaningful communication with people outside of their own circles. There are many examples of religion becoming a defining feature of such groupings, thus further contributing to the overall fragmentation of society and the hardening of “us-versus-them” demarcations. By undermining the institutional and legal foundations of society, and providing a sense of a moral and legal vacuum, uncertainty and insecurity, endemic corruption may create a breeding ground for collective religious narrow-mindedness in which religious diversity is generally perceived as threatening the position of one’s own group. This may explain some of the extreme hostility that religious communities at times display towards the admission of other religions or beliefs, even minority ones, into the existing infrastructure of their society.7 (b) Political authoritarianism 26. Another aggravating factor is a climate of political authoritarianism which discourages people from communicating openly and participating actively in public debates. Indeed, the most important antidote to existing, or emerging, mistrust between groups of people is the reality check facilitated by frank intergroup communication and open public discourse. Without an encouraging communicative atmosphere in society, there is always the danger that negative anecdotal evidence associated with unfamiliar religious communities, minorities or dissenting individuals will remain exclusively within closed circles, including Internet chat rooms, while never being exposed to any open communication and public critical discussions. Rumours and gossip which remain unchecked by any counter-evidence and counterarguments can easily escalate into fully fledged conspiracy theories against unwelcome religious competitors or other religious groups. This increases the likelihood of religious hatred becoming an influential factor in social and political life. Moreover, when attempting to curb public criticism of their own political performance, authoritarian Governments may easily succumb to the temptation to blame existing problems and obvious political failures on religious or belief minorities, thus further contributing to an atmosphere of paranoia and scapegoating. 7 A/HRC/19/60, paras. 20–73. 7