Public opinion and national security in Western Europe /

This would be an entirely depressing study were it not that current historical events in the Soviet bloc happily make archaic many of the issues treated. Even so, examples of survey results predetermined by the pollsters' questions remain disquieting; nor is it reassuring to be reminded that, on matters such as military threats and security measures, the public cannot make informed judgments and is therefore subject to considerable manipulation by elites. Postwar polls taken in four Western countries are doggedly analyzed to establish inter alia that mass opinions remained highly stable, irrespective of changes in the military balance between East and West; attitudes toward the great powers were more influenced by transitory events than by actual military capabilities; NATO continued to be preferred over neutrality because people could not think of a good alternative to it; and, increasingly, people do not want to spend more money for guns. Social scientists who have been beguiled by simplistic claims that the so-called "postmodern" or "successor generations" in Europe have abandoned political parties and ideologies for new values and organizations will not welcome evidence to the contrary found in these pages. Given the importance of this and other issues raised, it is a pity that Eichenberg manages to come down on both sides of all of them. For undergraduate and graduate social science students. -J. LaPalombara, Yale University