Selected Publications and Working Papers
Richard C. Eichenberg, International Relations, Foreign Policy, Western Europe,
Political Behavior
Public Opinion and National Security in Western Europe
 Synopsis:
This book describes and analyzes public opinion on security issues
in four European countries: Great Britain, France, the Netherlands,
and West Germany. Drawing on hundreds of governmental, commercial
and scholarly surveys since the 1950's, the author analyzes the
historical evolution and domestic polarization of public opinion on
the state of military balance, confidence in deterrence, nuclear
strategy and arms control, the NATO Alliance, and the defense
budget. The author concludes that the domestic security consensus
remains intact, but it will be increasingly challenged by both the
polarization of traditional party approaches and by the views of the
younger, "successor generation". NATO policies will command
consensus only if they continue the dual approach of strength and
negotiation that the Alliance adopted in the Harmel Doctrine of
1967. Contrary to popular images of a gap between American and
European views, the author also shows that European and American
sentiments are similar. This book contains the most comprehensive
available bibliography of public opinion and archival sources from
governmental, commercial and scholarly sources in the United States
and Western Europe. The appendix guides the readers to the most
useful archives and data sources for opinion surveys on security
issues.
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