Author Description

Product Description The arrival of the welfare state in Western Europe brought with it a vast expansion in the role of government. That expansion led to fears that the increased expectations of citizens would lead to government overload. This book sheds new light on the idea of a crisis of "ungovernability." Byexamining the expanding scope of government in the post-War period, and drawing on a vast data set stretching back over the last two decades and right across Europe, the book reveals public attitudes towards the range and extant of government activity. Changes in the public's political agenda areidentified, along with attitudes towards the size of government, taxation, and the equality and security goals of the welfare state. Attitudes towards government intervention in the economy, the environment, and the media are also examined. Review `On balance, the Beliefs in Government series provides one of the most ambitious examples of secondary data analysis in social science research, and it highlights both the strengths and limitations of this approach. The strengths are impressive.' American Political Science Review`The substantive findings that emerge from the Beliefs in Government project are encouraging for supporters of democracy.' American Political Sceince Review`The first four volumes contain many chapters that students of European politics and comparative public opinion will find valuable. The fifth volume, coauthored by Kaase and Newton, provides a useful overall perspective on the research.' American Political Science Review`an extremely valuable contribution to the research literature on comparative politics' American Political Science Review`This monumental five-volume series, written by leading European political scientists, presents a comprehensive analysis of the role of mass politics in public life. The result of a unique program in cross-national collaborative research, it constitutes an important event in the development of transnational social science.' American Political Science Review`The approach emphasizes careful empirical analysis tempered by cautious inference... The quality of the empirical analysis is consistently high, and authors are frank about the limitations imposed by their data... 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 working 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, but they should be the beginning of inquiry rather than the end.' Times Educational Supplement`The best available source of insight into how West European democracy operates in the view of the citizens concerned. How does democracy work in Western Europe?... offers, in my view, the best source available when searching for answers to this question, which after all is so relevant for practical politics in Europe and also political science... is the closest ever examination of European democracy... a gigantic survey of the attitudes of European citizens towards thier political institutions.' Jan-Erik Lane, Journal of European Public Policy March 1997It presents many interesting observations - Neil MacCormick in European Journal of International Law Vol 10 No 1 1999 About the Author Ole Borre is a Professor of Sociology at University of Aarhus. Elinor Scarbrough is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Essex.