TOWARDS A NOTION OF ‘WORLD OPINION’
- 1 December 1990
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in International Journal of Public Opinion Research
- Vol. 2 (4) , 305-322
- https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/2.4.305
Abstract
This paper presents a content analysis of the manner in which ‘world opinion’ is used in stories and editorials of two nations' major newspapers. The authors studied the International Herald Tribune and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung for the months of February, March, and April 1986 for articles which contained implicit or explicit references to ‘world opinion’. These refernces were studied using a pre-designed survey instrument, which analyzed several features of the term's usage. Topics for discussion included: (1) the various syonyms for world opinion; (2) the agenda for world opinion; (3) the timing of reference to particular issues on the agenda; (4) the moral and pragmatic components of world opinion; and (5) the link between world opinion and the ‘international isolation’ of nations or individuals. The paper concludes by combining the results of the study into a preliminary definition of ‘world opinion’, based upon the common usage of this term. The definition compares the characteristics of ‘world opinion’ and ‘public opinion’, and discusses the possible ramifications of understanding the concept in this manner.Keywords
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