Cooperation and Conflict · 1974 · 16 citations · 0 references
Social SciencesInternational RelationsPolitical ScienceEconomic PolicyInternational TradePolitical EconomyEuropean Foreign PolicyEuropean GovernanceEuropean IntegrationEuropean PoliticsEuropean SocietiesEuropean Union StudiesAdministrative ElitesCommon Market TheoryCommunication Media ChoiceDomestic Politics Of TradeElite-led Foreign Policy ChangePublic Policy ChoiceQualitative InterviewingTechnical Cooperation
Utilizing principles of countersystem analysis, derived from earlier co-authored studies of domestic change in advanced industrial societies, the author considers alternative consequences of Sweden's 1972 free trade treaty with the expanded European Community. On the basis of interviews with a systematic sample of leading officials in the government, parliament, the administration, interest groups, and the communication media as well as a qualitative assessment of Swedish foreign policy requirements, the author posits three conceivable patterns of policy choice in Sweden's future relations with the Common Market: (1) expanded trade and technical cooperation, (2) ad hoc membership in the EEC, and (3) assertive neutrality. Elite expectations and contemporary economic-technological links between Sweden and Western Europe indicate that the most probable course among these alternatives is ad hoc membership.