The Belgian Defense Policy Domain In the 1980s

Abstract

This paper presents a structural analysis of the Belgian national defense policy domain. It offers two sets of findings: (1) It shows that among organizations involved in formulating defense policy in Belgium in the 1980s, governmental agencies and political parties were considered the most prominent. (2) Through the use of multidimensional scaling techniques and cluster analysis, it identifies five "issue publics." Such issue publics are groups of organizations concerned with similar kinds of issues-one with comparatively general interests; three concerned respectively with manpower, procurement, and general defense policies; and a marginal manpower public.