Social Position and Foreign Policy Attitudes

The article discusses a cross-national use of an index for social position (a center- periphery index), some hypotheses about social position and foreign policy opinion, and some selected findings from a comparative three nation study. The discussion is based upon data from a three nation survey, turn of the year 1964/65, with data from France (N = 1,209), Norway (N = 1,000) and Poland (N = 2,749); national re presentative samples. The objective of this study was to make a comparative study on 'Public Opinion and the Consequences of Disarmament' or the 'Image of a Disarmed World'. The index for social position, previously only used in Norway, proved to 'work' quite as well both in 'big power' France and 'socialist' Poland.

The absolutism-gradualism hypothesis stating higher degree of gradualism in the center was confirmed and revealed some pronounced similarities between the countries. Parts of a theory for attitude and opinion propagation were tested and confirmed. Two hypotheses about 'socio-logic', stating different kinds of foreign policy 'logic' in the center and the periphery, were only partly confirmed; the difference was clearly demonstrated but not the pattern of the difference. The selected findings from the study displayed differences and similarities between the three countries, related to foreign policy on peace and disarmament, and social position. Sometimes these findings brought France and Poland more close together than Norway—France, or Norway—Poland. This was for instance particularly clear when the countries were compared with regard to relative impact, within each country, of social position on the questions used. Finally, a hypo thesis stating overselection by the center of majority views was confirmed and further discussed.