There are very few publications concerning the history of the foreign policy of Belgium. Those concerning the relation between public opinion and international relations are even less frequent. Based on publications of the results of public opinion polls organized by the Universitary Institute for Economic and Social Information (INSOC), and a limitedchoice of other written sources, it is possible to prove that the call on the public opinion concerning the history of international relations, and even more for the decision making, must be treated very carefully. In fact, there doesn't exist just one but several public opinions. The reactions in Belgium on the resolution of the United Nation concerningthe division of Palestine may be a clear example of the latter.

Clausewitz is not as some misinterpretations suggest a philosopher of total war. An analysis of his hermeneutical key presented in the first chapter of the first book of 'On War' makes it clear that there is a crucial distinction between his pure abstract concept of war - the notion of absolute war - and his theory of real war, where the irrationality ofviolence and the force of the military will, are subjected to political rationality. According to Clausewitz politicians carry the ultimate responsibility in determining the ends of war, and this can only be done after a thorough appraisal of national and international realities. One of the consequences of his position is that the military and political levels are not, as A. Rapoport suggests, interchangeable but in a subordinate position. Military leaders should always follow the logic of politics, politicians however should not neglect the grammar of war. Despite some texts that might suggest the contrary, Clausewitz held a clear option for a defensive policy. Value judgments are left to philosophers.

This article is concerned with the epistemological and methodological problems related to the taxonomy of political parties whett based on noorganizational criteria. The study of parties represents a starting point for modern Political Science: i.e. the seminal researches of Bryce, Ostrogorski and Michels. However this important field of knowledge hasn't known that much progress since the classical Duverger's Political Parties. Why?Two kind of approaches are used in order to classify parties: individualistic versus holistic. «Individualistic classifications» often suffer from a lack of theoretical background. Same of them use a spurious criterium like party names: i.e. Radical means extreme-left in the USA and conservatism in Switzerland, secularist activism in Italy and evangelical left in the Netherlands etc. Some classifications are based on political platforms which is a meaningless criterium: «A general election campaign is about a choice between organizations, not ideas.» (Richard Rose) The third criterium is far better: policies really implemented by political parties. However when properly used it gives a typology of countries, not parties.«Holistic classifications» either functionnalist or marxist opposed each other: the first stressed on equilibrium, the latter on class warfare. One suggests Rokkan's four cleavages paradigm to classify parties: each side of a cleavage should correspond to a definite «Political Family». Which items to use in order to assess a party to a permanent cleavage line? (1) The historical function performed by the party at its creation. (2a) The sociological structure of the party's: electorate, membership and inner group; (2b) The linkage structure between the party and a given network of pressure groups, movements and associations.

The basis of Belgium's post-war social and economic reforms was the social-solidarity agreement (1944) between the trade-unions and the employers. This «historical compromise» aimed at securing social security and a legal ground for the workers' co-management in the economic life, in exchange for social peace and aid in attaining a productivity-raise. From 1945 till 1948 National Labour Conferences and Parliament discussed the matter, especially the introduction of Works Councils, which raised ideological resistance. The Socialists, favourable towards the Works Councils in undertakings, claimed economic and financial powers for them. The Catholic were in favour of co-management, cooperation between workers and employers and workers' co-responsibility. Theemployers, fearing a restriction of their powers and a threat of collectivizing, were very suspicious. An inter-catholic agreement between workers and employers allowed them to formulate a unanimous attitude towards the Works Councils. A Socialist-Catholic compromise in Parliament resulted in the law on the organizing of the industry (20.IX.1948). This law reserved for the Works Councils a mainly advisory role in social matters. Their powers were very limited. Their composition was determined by cooperation and commoninterests. The first Works Councils-elections happened in 1950.

The object of this article is to focus on a survey on political participation in Belgium in the mid seventies. By political participation, the author refers to a set of political activities - conventional and less conventional, electoral and pre-electoral - which are hierarchical structured on a Guttman scale. Although the research is more or less unique - in Belgian terms - in this respect, the results are at first glance compatible with earlier findings. Most Belgians are rather passive citizens; 30 % of the survey sample performs none of the activities integrated in the scale. A closer look learns that male, middle aged citizens with some education and a decent job are most involved in polities, but it reveals also that gender, age, socio-economie class and educational attainment are not the one and only reliable predictors of political activity.

This article has two goals: 1° to illustrate certain methods which are completely new in their application and; 2° to communicate and analyse the results obtained by these methods. The first part of this study concerns the application of a mathematical model to the nominal votes in the French-speaking electoral college for the European elections of June 1984. The statistical categories of the log linear model, logically translated, permit to isolate and to measure the effects of list, position, and personality of each candidate. The second part of the article studies in more detail the results for the candidates Happart and Nols. This provides the occasion to introduce and to illustrate a method which permits the measurement of the nature of the performance of each candidate in terms of votes and percentages. The application of this method to the totality of French - and Flemish -speaking candidates, with an interpretation of the significance of themeasures (relative importance of the list and of the candidate), forms the last part of this study.