Public Opinion in the Iraq Crisis: Explaining Developments in Italy, the UK, France and Germany

In: European political science: EPS ; serving the political science community ; a journal of the European Consortium for Political Research, Band 3, Heft 1, S. 30-35

Abstract

The author counters the claim that public opinion matches elite opinion in terms of foreign policy because of lack of full information. In a comparative analysis of the divergent public & elite opinion in Italy & the UK to the congruent opinions in France & Germany, the author identifies contrasting behavior between the two sets of governments. The author argues that the explanatory factors for elite behavior in relation to divergent public opinion are the two different "dimensions" of opinion between European citizens & the British & Italian elites, that ultimately caused them to ignore public opinion. A case study of Italy analyzes Italian public opinion & the Church's negative response. In conclusion, the author advocates a louder public voice, & that European leaders must listen. Tables, References. J. Harwell