This open access book examines why citizens in democratic societies support or oppose restrictive alcohol policies. Drawing on more than two decades of data from Sweden, it provides a comprehensive and theoretically informed analysis of public attitudes toward key alcohol policy instruments, including alcohol taxation, the retail monopoly, licensing regulations, advertising restrictions, farm sales, and other proposals affecting alcohol availability and control. It also analyses how alcohol-related public opinion is shaped by social background, self-interest, value orientations, perceptions of alcohol-related harm, beliefs about the effectiveness of policy instruments, ideological views about responsibility, and trust in institutions. The book addresses a central problem not only in alcohol policy but also in democratic theory and public opinion research more broadly: under what conditions do citizens support policies that may constrain their own choices, impose costs, or reduce convenience in order to protect others and reduce collective harm? In doing so, it speaks to broader questions about democratic legitimacy, regulation, risk governance, and public support for interventions in liberal democracies.

David Karlsson is Professor of Public Administration at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Sören Holmberg is Senior Professor of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Lennart Weibull is Professor Emeritus of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.