Public Opinion and Internationalized Governance / Beliefs in Government (PDF)

The way we are governed is no longer decided on a purely national level. This book systematically explores the attitudes of European publics to this internationalization of governance. Trends and sources of support for European integration are examined. Are positive attitudes due to hand-outs from Brussels, or to the economic benefits of the single market? What is the role of class, of education, and of leadership? Is there a European identity and a basic level of
intra-European trust? How do problems of subsidiarity and of democratic deficit affect legitimacy and how do all of these issues relate to the role of the nation-state?

Among other issues, the analysis also looks at enlargement, at EFTA, at Central and Eastern Europe and at attitudes to NATO both before and after 1989. The problems are examined from the different perspectives of integration theory, of international relations, and of comparative politics and a final chapter spells out the implications for the future of European governance.

Series description

This set of five volumes is an exhaustive study of beliefs in government in post-war Europe. Based upon an extensive collection of survey evidence, the results challenge widely argued theories of mass opinion, and much scholarly writing about citizen attitudes towards government and politics. The series arises from a research project sponsored by the European Science Foundation.

Reviews of the series:

`The quality of the empirical analysis is consistently high...[an] important collection of empirical studies addressing the debate about the "crisis of representation" in Europe.'
Journal of Public Policy

`These volumes contain the work of many of the most important scholars in the field of public opinion in Europe today...These five volumes represent a major contribution to comparative politics, especially the study of mass politics. The chapters provide a wealth of information about public opinion in contemporary Europe and the relationship between state and society...The volumes clearly will be read by all students of European politics...'
Times Educational Supplement

`The Beliefs in Government series is a monumental achievement. It tells us at least everything we want to know about the structure of European public opinion'.
The Good Society

Reviews of Public Opinion and Internationalized Governance
`a tremendously integrated piece of work, reflecting genuine collaboration on the part of the editors and the contributors... This book gives an insight into the legitimacy of a whole host of integrative processes and integration outcomes, and as a result deserves to find its way onto appropriate academic reading lists....a fascinating and sobering read'.
Times Higher Educational Supplement

`an important contribution to the current debates, both political and scholarly...certainly the most ambitious and comprehensive study to date of this range of problems, and their findings will have to be taken into account by all serious students of European integration'.
Political Studies