The constitution of a European demos with a collective identity is one of the preconditions for adjusting the legitimacy problem of the European Union (EU). The analysis attempts to clarify empirically whether there is sufficient commonality regarding Europeans' political value orientations to...

Today democracy is seen as the only legitimate form of government almost all over the world. That it can be institutionalized differently leads to the question which kind of democracy might be better or worse. This question can be answered normatively, but also on the basis of different...

On the basis of the Eurobarometer survey data of 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1989, trends as well as levels of support for new social movements are analysed comparatively. The countries involved are France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Great Britain. The analysis is based on a concept of...

The paper addresses the observation of public opinion as one form of communication between the governmental system and its environment. It starts with the premise that public opinion is the major point of reference of the governmental system, when it comes to the question of how and how strongly...

Der von Noelle-Neumann entwickelten Theorie der Schweigespirale liegt die zentrale Hypothese zugrunde, daß es einen Zusammenhang gibt zwischen der individuellen Perzeption der öffentlichen Mehrheitsmeinung zu einem Thema und der Bereitschaft von Individuen, sich öffentlich zu diesem Thema zu...

One condition for the stability of democratic systems is the development of a political culture that is congruent with the implemented structure. As the presented data shows, in unified Germany this kind of congruence exists only in West Germany. In East Germany a majority of citizens is...