Globalisation, Public Opinion and the State

This is first integrated book-length account of citizen responses to the new global order. Based on a comprehensive survey, administered at the end of 2000, in nine European and nine Asian countries, this book demonstrates the diverse responses to globalization, within, and between, two of the world's major – and most globally integrated – regions.Globalization, Public Opinion and the State is a pioneering empirical study, drawing on 18,000 interviews across these 18 European and Asian countries supported by the Japanese Ministry of Education. The Asian-Europe Survey is one of the largest of its kind ever conducted, and provides the book with a wealth of novel data on public opinion and social attitudes that identify the linkages between national/regional policy responses and the political and policy orientations of the publics affected. The book uses theoretical insights to situate these public responses and reactions to globalization; and it addresses one question in particular: do nation states matter in how citizens come to view regional and global engagement? Rather than offering another theory about globalization, this book presents much-needed empirical findings that help us decide between arguments about the public impact of globalization cross-nationally. This book breaks new ground as there no other comprehensive study in this field.

‘Empirical studies of mass response to globalization are still lacking. This is especially true for systematic cross-national accounts. The volume edited by Marsh and Inoguchi fills this gap. It maps citizen attitudes in 9 Asian and 9 Western European countries, relying on the high quality ASIA-EUROPE SURVEY. Results show that a majority of citizens in the countries under study feel exposed to and talk about globalization - mostly in positive terms. However, this broadening of the focus of citizen attitudes does not affect the continuing importance of the nation state for attitude formation. Globalization broadens the context of citizens’ experience; it does not replace the older contexts. Students and scholars pursuing the subject will greatly benefit from this volume.’Hans-Dieter Klingemann is Professor Emeritus at the Social Science Research Centre Berlin (WZB) and Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany.

Takashi Inoguchi is Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo, and currently Professor of Political Science, Chuo University, Tokyo. He has published more than 70 books in English and Japanese; he recently co-authored Political Cultures in Asia and Europe (with Jean Blondel, also published by Routledge), and American Democracy Promotion.Ian Marsh holds the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) Chair of Government, and is Professor in the Graduate School of Government, University of Sydney; he is also Research Director for the Committee for Economic Development of Australia. His latest books include Into the Future: the Neglect of the Long Term in Australian Politics; and (as editor) Australian Parties in Transition?