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Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-213) and index. ; Mode of access: Internet.

This article analyses the nature of French political parties' attitudes towards the EU. Three main dimensions of the EU process and of its impact on the member states are focused upon: identity, representation and scope of governance. We propose for the analysis a complementary insight in to the ideological explanations of party attitudes towards the EU by focusing on two main factors of variation: the institutional position of parties and time effects. We show that French parties divide over EU issues, along the lines opposing (1) major parties to radical and outsider parties, and (2) governmental parties to non-governmental and extra-parliamentary parties. Left and right do not impact the pattern of contestation of the EU issue in the French case. Parties divide upon EU issues producing in the end a peculiar pattern that differs from the more traditional patterns of party competition of France. Finally, there is diversity between the attitudes of the party central office and the party in public office. Adapted from the source document.

IN THE 1994 NATIONAL ELECTION, PARTIES AND POLITICIANS IN THE NETHERLANDS, FOR THE FIRST TIME, HAD ACCESS TO A DUAL BROADCASTING SYSTEM. ALONGSIDE THE PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING CHANNELS, WHICH BY LAW AND TRADITION HAD FUNCTIONED AS A POLITICALLY BALANCED PLATFORM, A NEW COMMERCIAL NETWORK HAD JOINED THE BROADCASTING LANDSCAPE. MEDIA ANALYSTS EXPECTED THE COMMERCIAL NEWSCAST TO ADOPT A PRAGMATIC APPROACH, WHILE THE PUBLIC SERVICE WAS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE A SACREDOTAL APPROACH. HOWEVER, OBSERVATION AND CONTENT ANALYSIS PROVED THAT THERE WERE FEWER DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO CHANNELS THAN PREDICTED.

UNTIL 1964, IDEOLOGICAL CONSERVATIVES TENDED TO PARTICIPATE IN PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES AT HIGHER RATES THAN LIBERALS. SINCE THEN, BECK AND JENNINGS HAVE SHOWN THE VARIABLE NATURE OF THE PARTICIPATION-IDEOLOGY RELATIONSHIP, ARGUING THAT IDELOGICALLY EXTREME CANDIDATES HAVE SUCCESSFULLY MOBILIZED THEIR FOLLOWERS IN PARTICULAR ELECTIONS. IN THIS PAPER, THE AUTHORS EXPLAIN THE "ANOMALY" OF THE 1980 ELECTION IN WHICH STRONG LIBERALS PARTICIPATED AT HIGHER RATES DESPITE A VERY STRONG CONSERVATIVE ON THE REPUBLICAN SIDE. USING DATA COLLECTED OVER TIME IN 1980 BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN'S CENTER FOR POLITICAL STUDIES (CPS/NES), THEY BROADEN THE BECK-JENNINGS MODEL TO INCLUDE PARTICIPATION DURING THE PRIMARY SEASON AND HYPOTHESIZE THAT MOBILIZATION OF IDEOLOGICAL GROUPS MAY RESULT FROM IDEOLOGICAL CANDIDATES AND THE COMPETITIVENESS OR CLOSENESS OF A NOMINATION CONTEST. THEY FIND THAT THE IDEOLOGICAL CANDIDATE MODEL EXPLAINS GENERAL ELECTION PARTICIPATION TO A SIGNIFICANT DEGREE, WHILE COMPETITIVENESS CONSIDERATIONS ARE MORE IMPORTANT FOR MOBILIZATION DURING THE PRIMARIES.

THE NOTION THAT IDEOLOGICAL PERCEPTIONS IN THE MASS PUBLIC ARE SHAPED TO SOME EXTENT BY ELITES AND POLITICAL CANDIDATES IS WIDESPREAD IN THE PUBLIC OPINION LITERATURE. HOWEVER, THERE HAS BEEN A LACK OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH DIRECTLY DEMONSTRATING THE LINKS BETWEEN ELITES AND THE MASSES WHOSE THINKING THEY SUPPOSEDLY CUE AND STRUCTURE. THIS PAPER ATTEMPTS TO SHOW, THROUGH MAGNITUDE SCALE DATA COLLECTED OVER TIME IN THE 1980 CAMPAIGN, THE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT OF POLITICAL CANDIDATES IN ALTERING IDEOLOGICAL PERCEPTIONS OF POLITICAL STIMULI. THE CHIEF "CARRIER" OF IDEOLOGY IN 1980 IS SHOWN TO BE RONALD REAGAN, WHOSE STRONG ISSUE STANDS AND IDEOLOGICAL LABEL INFLUENCED PERCEPTIONS OF SPECIFIC ISSUES' IDEOLOGICAL CONTENT. THE FINDINGS ARE DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF BOTH MEASUREMENT PROBLEMS IN THE IDEOLOGY LITERATURE AND MORE GENERAL THEORIES OF ELITE AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON MASS POLITICAL THOUGHT.HT.