The Opinion-Policy Nexus in Germany

Abstract

This article analyzes the previously unresearched relationship between mass public opinion and public policy in contemporary West Germany. By studying approximately 150 cases over the last decade, the nature of German democracy is revealed in relation to the overall consistency between majority preferences and government action. The opinion-policy nexus is explored in regard to the impact of issue saliency, landslide majorities, different categories of issues (e.g., redistributive, foreign policy), and the partisan composition of the government (i.e., Social D emocratic vs. Christian Democratic). In addition, there is a cross-national comparison of results for West Germany with the author's previous research on opinion and policy in the United States, Britain, and France. The findings indicate that (like other nations studied) public opinion and public policy in Germany are inconsistent in a majority of instances and that (unlike Britain or France) the partisan composition of the government does not matter vis-à-vis the degree of policy-opinion congruence.

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