ABSTRACT
The elite, politically active "class" in America may be extremely influential in communicating directly with policy makers, but it is also very small, constituting only approximately 5 to 10 percent of the public. For the most part, elites talk with fellow elites; they rarely stimulate mass attitude changes. Elites and the general public live in distinct worlds that rarely interact. Behind many pessimistic analyses about the continued participation of the United States in European security and North Atlantic Treaty Organization lie several implicit assumptions concerning public opinion, the process of mass attitude change, and the relationship between public opinion and the foreign policy process. The impact of public opinion on the policy process depends on two key factors: The level of mass attitudes, and the sophistication with which competing elites develop a cogent political strategy that is informed by a detailed analysis of survey research.
