Niko Toš: Slovenes are Europeans

Ljubljana, 29 November

According to a research project entitled Slovene Public Opinion (SPO), which was carried out over the last few years, Slovenes rank among the European average in terms of valuation of the family, work, religion and other areas. This was stated on the presentation of a new book entitled Values in Transition III – Slovene Public Opinion 1999-2004, by the book’s editor and representative of the Centre for Public Opinion and Mass Communications Research at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Niko Toš. The book contains data from all 17 surveys performed in the period in question, including all the questions related to the SPO project and data on the course of the research. Two books have already been published in this field, the first for the period 1968-1990, and the second for research conducted from 1990 to 1998.

In comparison with other Europeans, where do Slovenes stand in terms of valuating the family, work, religion, politics and other areas which you have studied in the last few years in the Slovene Public Opinion project?

The research from the most recent period, especially the European values research, give us a clear answer: Slovenes are Europeans. Even in the expressing of values we are Europeans. In our attitudes, our expressions of our desires, and our convictions, which is what values essentially are, we are near or among the other western European nations. This applies to the high valuation of the importance of work, the still prevailing high valuation of the (so to speak) traditional understanding of the family, the expression of faith and the forming of attitudes towards the church. Due to the specific experiences which we have gained on the transition from the old system to the new, we are more reserved towards politics, less trusting of state institutions, strongly critical of political parties. The research from the most recent period shows that not only in Slovenia but also in other European countries there is a growing feeling of being threatened and therefore a greater rejection of what is ‘foreign’, more closing in on ourselves, less trust in other people.

The third book is characterized by a discussion of the strengthening of the democratic system and accession to the EU. What were the findings?

The book Values in Transition III is a research document which includes detailed information on all research performed in a certain period. From 1999 to 2004 we performed a series of surveys which indicate how Slovenes’ ‘European consciousness’ was formed and expressed, how the efforts of the government and the state towards entry into the European Union were supported and how the advantages and disadvantages of Slovenia’s membership in the EU were perceived. We can say that the efforts of the Slovene state for full membership in the EU received extremely wide-ranging public support. Of course some reservations remained mostly in connection with the further maintenance and development of the national identity.

What is the significance of SPO research?

Research of Slovene public opinion has been conducted continuously from 1968 to the present. Its design is similar to that of other social science infrastructure surveys such as the General Social Survey in the USA and similar surveys in Germany, Great Britain, the Scandinavian countries etc. The SPO project is an important reference point for entry into international comparative projects. Through this project Slovenia is cooperating with a global survey of values, the International Social Survey Programme, the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems and many others. The inclusion of the SPO project in the new pan-European project the European Social Study, which began in 2001, in which a major empirical study of viewpoints and opinions is taking place in the twenty-five Member States of the EU about problems which are important to the development of the European Union, is especially important.

Niko Toš: Slovenes are Europeans

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