bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Concepts in Political Science
Authors: Meyer Poul
Published: October 2007

A concept is the name of any general element in one's experience, and, consequently, in social science all conclusions are based on concepts. The main object of this article is to indicate the existence of a logical gulf between the concept as an object of analysis made by social science and the concept as a means to accomplish the analysis
‘Nothing but Survival?’ On David Easton's Concept of Political Persistence
Authors: Bang Henrik
Published: October 2007

How do you catch the fish you are after in a text‐analysis, and what are the effects of your world‐view upon your abilities to fish? Although the analytic positivists can indeed help us to answer these questions, their world‐view has nevertheless functioned as a constraint upon the development of political theory by ignoring (more or less) the methods of the understanding traditions. Because, if you fail to understand the complex of problems in a given text‐system, you are also in danger of analysing and criticizing nothing but your own misunderstandings ‐ of kidding no‐one but yourself. In the case of David Easton's concept of political persistence, such analytic misunderstandings have helped to produce a one‐dimensional picture of the systems model, which, however, can be dissolved by uniting world‐view, metascience, and science of respectively the analysts and the interpreters within the framework of the critical traditions.
Political Positions, Hierarchies and Political Markets: Towards a New Theory on Political Recruitment*
Authors: Solvang Bernt Krohn
Published: October 2007

This article adresses itself to the problem of political recruitment. Most recruitment studies are based on models of recruitment where the model presupposes more candidates than positions. Studying local committees we cannot presuppose excess demand for political positions. The article tries to introduce economic theory into the study of political recruitment. With concepts of market, supply, demand and prices, the article discusses recruitment to various types of positions. When we have extreme market conditions with either excess demand or lack of demand, the recruitment processes can best be understood in terms of hierarchical forces.

The sales of less important positions in a situation with low demand for these positions could best be understood in terms of market mechanism. Comparing an economic market with a political market, the article finds variation in the transaction structure. The economic markets have a specific transaction structure, with specific obligations linked to transactions, while the political markets have a more unspecified transaction structure with more unspecified obligations linked to the transactions. A less specified transaction structure has lower transaction costs in a hierarchy than in a market. This, the author believes, could explain why some transactions take place in markets while others take place in hierarchies.
Incomes Policy in Finland: Economic and Social Effects in a Comparative Perspective
Authors: Uusitalo Hannu
Published: October 2007

This paper examines the performance of the Finnish economy during the so‐called incomes policy period, 1969‐80. For this purpose Finland is compared with the other OECD countries both before and during the incomes policy period. The results suggest that in terms of economic growth, inflation and unemployment, Finnish economy has improved its performance, particularly before the economic recession of the mid‐seventies. Cross‐national comparisons point out that the recession has been met in various ways: some countries have restrained inflation, some unemployment. Secondly, the paper examines the effects of incomes policy agreements on the growth of social expenditure, the result being that incomes policy cannot be regarded as responsible for the growth of social expenditure in Finland. Thirdly, effects on income distribution are analyzed. Here incomes policy has played a role: income inequalities diminished during the first five years of incomes policy. Since then, they have not changed. The paper ends by discussing the impact and nature of incomes policy.
Economics, Ideology and Strategy. An Analysis of the EC‐Debate in Norwegian and Danish Organizations 1961‐72*
Authors: Aardal Bernt Otav
Published: October 2007

This article presents a comparative analysis of the EC‐debate in Norway and Denmark preceding the referenda in 1972. The focus is on the basic economic interests involved, and how major organizations presented their arguments to protect their sectors of the economy. The theoretical point of departure is the idea of rational behavior, where actors are supposed to pursue self‐interests. Special emphasis is placed on strategic considerations, because each group needed to appeal to people outside their own sector to mobilize a majority of the national vote. Ideological legitimization as well as variations in economic conditions and geographic mobility are discussed. The empirical basis is a content analysis of editorials in Norwegian and Danish organizational papers. The conclusion is that although it is important to include egoistic self‐interests in order to understand the positions of various groups in the EC‐debate, it is also important to include aspects beyond narrow sectorial interests. Strategic considerations led to rapprochment between traditional opponents along the left‐right axis in Norway, while the same groups in Denmark, although they agreed on the EC‐issue, confronted each other with respect to major economic questions.
The Verification of Motives
Authors: Hadenius Axel
Published: October 2007

This article deals with various approaches to the verification of intentional explanations. First a survey is given of the different empirical indicators which may in principle be used. Then follows an account of a number of rules for testing of the validity of different kinds of verification; these rules are derived in the main from the field of content analysis coupled with the so‐called historical method.
Regional Policy: Implementation through Bargaining
Authors: Henning Roger
Published: October 2007

This article analyzes the implementation of two regional development programs. The purpose is to show how the programs approved by the Riksdag were translated into practice and to explain why the funds were distributed as they were. We seem to have found substantation for the hypothesis that the borderlines between politics and markets are blurred in this implementation process. Bargaining was an important element in the process. Decisions were shaped in interaction between authorities and companies and, at the central level, in the actual process of bargaining. The most important finding is that the main conflict in this bargaining economy was not between the decision‐makers and the company. Rather, it was between the central and regional levels.1
Class, Party and Ideology: A Danish Case Study of Electoral Behaviour in Referendums*
Authors: Svensson Palle
Published: October 2007

In this paper elements of a theory of electoral behaviour in referendums are presented and tested on a theoretically important case. Among the main determining factors — social class, political party and ideological attitude — it is shown that on a relatively simple issue with low importance for the everyday life of the voters, ideological attitude is far more important than politicál party and social class in explaining referendum voting. On this basis a scheme of analysis and a number of hypotheses are suggested for further study.
Good Cuts, Bad Cuts: The Need for Expenditure Analysis in Decremental Budgeting*
Authors: Tarschys Daniel
Published: October 2007

Quantitative targets are widely used in decremental budgeting. On the macro‐level, governments set global limits for the growth of public expenditures, government deficits, or the ratio of government spending to GNP. On the micro‐level, reduction targets are frequently assigned to spending ministries or agencies on a selective basis or across‐the‐board. While this kind of targetry appears to be indispensable to achieve cutbacks, it is also very deficient in that it treats public expenditures as a fungible commodity, consisting of interchangeable units of account. As austerity policies are coming of age, the inherent weaknesses in the targets approach attract increasing attention, and there is growing concern about the quality of austerity measures. To make sound decisions on such measures, governments must develop a better understanding of the characteristics and properties of various public expenditures. This paper outlines four varieties of expenditure analysis that may contribute to ‘the leap from quantity to quality’ in decremental budgeting.
The Farmers, the State and the Social Democrats*
Authors: Steen Anton
Published: October 2007

The influence of farmers on public policy has often been analysed by means of a pressure‐group paradigm. Here the paradigm is integrated into a more general theoretical framework with focus on the content of agricultural policy. Differences in agricultural policies are first of all explained by the consensus‐making capacity of the political process. Crucial here is the agricultural profile of the Social Democratic parties, and how far the cost of increasing farm income impinges on the interest of other social groups.
Leeway for Personal Impact: The Case of Foreign‐Policy Making in Norway*
Authors: Knudsen Olav Fagelund , East Maurice A.
Published: October 2007

Setting their focus on the role of decision‐makers at intermediate and higher levels of a country's foreign policy administration, the authors analyze contextual factors that may determine the impact of decision‐makers' personal characteristics on foreign policy. The article highlights the dynamics of these factors in the case of Norwegian foreign policy‐making in the mid‐ and late 1970s. Over time, there has been a general relaxation of formal bureaucratic constraints, including the use of internally recruited political appointment, compounded by the growth of non‐traditional international public affairs. The Foreign Minister's leadership style appears to have served as a catalyst to create an environment in which middle‐to‐upper level administrative leaders and political appointees have had greater opportunity than previously to garner influence and make it felt.
Public Allocation by Private Organizations: The Case of Finland*
Authors: Anckar Dag , Helander Voitto
Published: October 2007

Research on government‐group relations has primarily concentrated on policy stages related to agenda‐building, consultation and negotiation. However, interest organizations also play an increasingly important role in the final stage of allocation as they have in several instances been entrusted with the execution of state authority. This is especially true in the field of so‐called indirect public administration. The paper reviews various forms of public allocation by private organizations in Finland and presents some empirical data indicating the growth of this form of allocation.
Organizational Behavior and Economic Growth: A Norwegian Perspective*
Authors: Rasch Bjørn Erik , Sørensen Rune Jørgen
Published: October 2007

By using game‐theory, it is indicated that encompassing organizations may participate in dilemma games with free‐rider problems. Next, examinations of institutional details of Norwegian corporatism point out that creative or productive strategies may be quite likely even among small interest organizations. In the last section it is argued that the assumption of economic growth being a collective good is more acceptable the larger the public sector. Again, institutional details need to be in focus. The model closing the paper dwells on whether comprehensive organizations really have stronger incentives to choose creativity rather than to fight for redistributions. A general affirmative answer cannot be provided.
‘Wrong Persons‐Are Making Right Decisions without Hearing Us’: Political Trust, Responsiveness of Politicians and Satisfaction with Governmental Policies in Finland*
Authors: Wiberg Matti
Published: October 2007

That low trust in politicians in general endangers the political stability of a democratic political system is conventional wisdom even within the political science community. It is the purpose of the article to challenge this notion. It is claimed that, on the contrary, distrust of politicians in general may just be evidence of healthy scepticism. It should, on the other hand, be clear that high trust in politicians in general may also endanger the stability of a political system, even the whole existence of the democratic order. Total faith is blind faith. The main argument of the paper is supported with empirical evidence From Gallup polls in Finland (1974–1984), which show, among other things, that the overall satisfaction with governmental policies has been exceptionally high in our country.
Party Organizational Elites in Norwegian Politics: Representativeness and Party Democracy*
Authors: Heidar Knut
Published: October 2007

The question raised is why ‘secondary’ representativeness of political elites, i.e. the degree of similarity in socio‐demographic background between elite and electorate, is considered important in debates on democratic polities. Three answers are considered: to improve long‐term ‘primary’ representtativity. i.e. the representation of public opinions; to build systemic legitimacy: and to encourage the participation of low‐mobilized groups. From this perspective new data on the party organizational elites in Norway are presented: The party elites are socially skewed in terms of present position. but fairly broad based in terms of parental background. They reflect the traditional cleavage structures of Norwegian politics, even though the high shares of women and public employees indicate potentially emerging cleavage structures. Particularly the women in party positions are disproportionately recruited from the lower ranks of the public job market.
How Policy‐Making Affects Implementation: The Decentralization of the Danish Disablement Pension Administration*
Authors: Winter Søren
Published: October 2007

‘Presidents are more likely to be punished for not making promises of administrative reform than for not implementing them.’ (March & Olsen 1983, 291)

Policy‐making and implementation have usually been treated as two distinct disciplines. In this article it is argued that implementation is affected by the prior policy‐making process. Hypotheses regarding such impacts are derived from the policy‐making theories resting on a) the rational decision‐making model. b) the conflict‐bargaining model, and c) the garbage‐can model: Implementation failures are more likely 1) if goals are absent or vague and if alternatives and their consequences have not been considered; 2) if the policy‐making process involves participants with conflicting interests and compromising; 3) if there are many and changing participants with limited attention and if symbols are important in the poky‐making process. These hypotheses are tested and discussed in relation to a reorganization case, the decentralization of the disablement pension administration in Denmark in 1976.
The Contradictions of Rational Abstention: Counterfinality, Voting, and Games without a Solution*
Authors: Hovi Jon
Published: October 2007

This paper considers the theory of rational abstention from the angle of Elsrer's categories of social contradictions. It is demonstrated that Downsian expected utility maximizing voters will be trapped in a state of counterfinality, which is one of these categories. Realizing this, citizens may alter their behavioral assumptions, and come to base their decisions on strategic thinking. However, this leads into another contradiction in Elster's sense, since in general, the Voting Game has no solution. The latter conclusion is shown to hold true regardless of the number of candidates involved, and irrespective of the number of rounds in the election. The lesson to draw is that neither Bayesian decision theory nor the theory of games can provide satisfactory advice for the rational citizen in voting situations, and, by implication, decision criteria other than those offered by these theories may be of some relevance However, several possible criteria exist, and unless satisfactory predictions can be made as to how the various criteria are distributed in the electorate, the theory must remain indeterminate as far as predictions of voter turnout are concerned.
State‐Capacity between International Markets and Corporatism: The Case of Denmark
Authors: Klausen Jytte
Published: October 2007

This article examines Danish welfare and industrial policies to see if Peter Katzenstein's description of such policies as instances of a successful strategy of compensation for the social costs of an open economy and adaptation to international markets is correct. It is argued that the universal welfare state and corporatism pose severe restrictions on policy flexibility Universality of benefits is conducive to political consensus but also expensive because no one party is willing to assume the political costs of substantial change. Similarly, the comprehensive inclusion of organized interests in the formation and administration of industrial policies prevents the exclusion of any one organized interest from a share of government subsidies. Consequently, policies are broad and consensus‐generating rather than flexible responses to changes in international markets. It is concluded that the domestic interest group representation arrangements inhibit global adjustment.
Evading Constitutional Inertia: Exception Laws in Finland1
Authors: Anckar Dag , Akademi Åbo
Published: October 2007

Exceptions from the prescriptions of the Constitution can be made in Finland without altering the letter of the Constitution, on condition that the exceptions are decided by Parliament in a manner that honours the qualified procedure prescribed in the Finnish Constitution for the altering or enactment of fundamental law This institution appears very different when compared to the conceptions of fundamental law in most other countries, and it originates from the time of Russian rule in Finland. Hundreds of so‐called exception laws have been enacted in Finland during the years of independence, interfering primarily with the right to property, which is guaranteed in the Finnish Constitution. Other rights have been violated in exception laws to a much lesser extent. Empowerment laws. i.e. exception laws that introduce a legislative delegation, have likewise primarily infringed on the right to property. Although the exception law institution has been under suspicion for obscuring the general knowledge of the meaning and intentions of fundamental laws, it cannot be denied that it has facilitated policy making and has contributed to the management of constitutional inertia.
From a Small to a Large Minority: Women in Scandinavian Politics
Authors: Dahlerup Drude
Published: October 2007

‘It takes a critical mass of women, e.g. 30 percent, to make a difference in polities’ This statement is common today, even among women politicians themselves. However, the theory of the importance of the relative size of the minority has not been sufficiently developed in political science. Based on the experience of women in Scandinavian politics (today being a minority of about 30 percent), the article discusses six areas for which an increase in the proportion of the minority might lead to changes in for instance the political culture, the political discourse or the reaction to women as politicians. The article suggests that the concept of a critical mass is replaced by one of critical acts, which would seem to be more relevant when studying human beings.
Explaining Privatization: Notes Towards a Predictive Theory
Authors: Lundqvist Lennart J.
Published: October 2007

This article starts from the assumption that some of the theoretical work used to explain welfare‐state expansion can be used ‘in reverse’ to explain privatization, here seen as welfare state contraction, i.e., the transfer from the public to the private sector of the responsibility for certain activities involved in welfare provision. To this end, valiants of the ‘power resources’ approach are examined. Finding that the ‘labour movement’ thesis does not have a strong predictive value, I then discuss the ‘game theoretical’ variant of the ‘power resources’ approach. Its usefulness for predicting privatization patterns seems limited because of the reductionism built into it. Following the neo‐Institutionalists' argument that actor preferences and strategies both reflect and form institutional arrangements of the welfare state, some institutional typologies are developed which are relevant to the course and patterns of privatization. An ideal‐type dichotomy between ‘pluralist’ and ‘corporatist’ institutions is discussed, in connection with a further delineation of decision‐making, financing, and implementing structures. In conclusion, an effort is made to combine actor‐oriented and institutional approaches to formulate some preliminary predictions about when and where certain patterns of privatization will occur.
The Priorities of Materialist and Post‐Materialist Values in the Nordic Countries ‐ a Five‐Nation Comparison
Authors: Knutsen Oddbjørn
Published: October 2007

The present study takes the theory of post‐materialism as a point of departure and compares the priorities of materialist and post‐materialist values in the five Nordic countries (Denmark. Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden). The prevalence of political values in different countries is also examined, as is the relationship between materialist and post‐materialist values and age, from the perspective of whether generational replacement will contribute to the spread of post‐materialist values in the Nordic setting. Post‐materialist values are given relatively strong emphasis in the Nordic countries because the mass publics are less concerned with economic security values than those in other Western democracies. The priorities of political values have remained relatively stable at the aggregate level from the late 1970s to 1987, although there has been a slight tendency for the mass publics to become more materialist. In all countries the post‐war generations are more likely to support post‐materialist values than the older generations. The correlations between age and political values have become somewhat smaller over the last 6–12 years.
Flexible Adjustment and Political Stability: The Terms of the Debate
Authors: Nielsen Klaus
Published: October 2007

Flexibility is a prominent catchword in recent economic and political debate. The need for increased flexibility in various areas of society is generally accepted. The article presents and criticizes the terms of this debate. As part of the general neoliberal trend flexibility is often perceived as a purely desirable quality. Less state, less unions and flexibilization by means of greater reliance upon markets are the policies that are proposed to overcome the crisis of the Western industrialized countries. However, flexible adaptation requires a foundation of stable institutions and behaviour patterns. Japan today represents one successful combination of flexibility and stability. Scandinavia ‐ and other small European countries ‐ have been attributed other successful combinations. Here, political stability seems to arise from a big state and an extended corporatist system and, according to Katzenstein, this does not contradict, but rather reinforces, the capacity for economic flexibility. Recent developmental trends, however, challenge this interpretation. The recent structural changes have been considered part of a general transition from Fordism to post‐Fordism. The international race to modernize or to implement post‐Fordism might imply a new ‘match’ of techno‐economic structures and sociopolitical institutions ‐ also in the Scandinavian countries.
‘Does Sex Matter to Democracy?’– A Comment
Authors: Pateman Carole
Published: October 2007

Two aspects of the relation between sexual difference and democracy are discussed: (i) the construction in classic contract theory of the ‘natural’ difference between the sexes as a relation of superiority and subordination; (ii) the peculiarities and paradoxes of women's standing as citizens as the ‘different’ sex. This is illustrated by the examples of motherhood ‐ women have been seen as having a distinctive political duty as mothers, but motherhood is also seen as the antithesis of citizenship ‐ by the difficulties surrounding women and consent, and by the questions raised by contemporary feminists about the meaning of (‘normal’) ‘sex’.
The Epistemological Foundations of Public Choice Theory
Authors: Lane Jan‐Erik
Published: October 2007

The new political economy ‐ public choice ‐ has contributed considerably to a long‐awaited inter‐marriage between political science and economics. The economic approach to the interpretation of the public sector ‐ politics as well as administration ‐ has resulted in a number of interestingly relevant models. At the same time modelling political behaviour on the basis of the economic man perspective gives rise to puzzling difficulties creating much controversy. The article attempts to establish in principle the ethically neutral and scientifically objective nature of the public choice approach. It elaborates on the crucial concept of self‐interest in the public choice behaviour assumptions in order to show that the criticism from the public interest adherents may be countered.
Toward Interest Inarticulation: A Major Consequence of Corporatism for Interest Organizations
Authors: Micheletti Michele
Published: October 2007

The main issue discussed is the difficulties in collective action. Three logics of collective action are identified and discussed in terms of their implications for solidarity within interest organizations and for organizational action. Both solidarity and organizational action are important for successful policymaking. Policies can be decided without the support of the members, but their implementation may thus prove difficult. The theoretical issue of interest articulation by interest organizations is the important one here. The article concludes that encompassing organizations will most likely have difficulty in articulating a definite organizational policy. It is maintained that corporatism and public responsibility‐taking can severely hamper the articulation of organized special interests. They lead to interest inarticulation. This may lead to legitimacy problems for the organization and be one explanation for the recent decline in certain established interest organizations in Sweden and recent discussions on the future of corporatism.
Analysing Welfare State Variations: The Merits and Limitations of Models Based on the Residual–Institutional Distinction*
Authors: Sainsbury Diane
Published: October 2007

A key distinction in models of social policy and typologies of welfare provision has been a differentiation between residual and institutional types. However, despite the gradual elaboration of models based on this distinction, there has been little effort to apply them in empirical comparative analysis or to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the models. This article initially examines two main approaches in identifying types of welfare states and major welfare state variations. It subsequently applies several dimensions of variation posited by the residual and institutional models in a comparison of the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Sweden. This comparison forms the point of departure for evaluating the merits and limitations of models based on the residual‐institutional distinction.
State Structure and Variations in Corporatism: The Swedish Case*
Authors: Rothstein Bo
Published: October 2007

The question addressed in this article is: Why are some countries more corporatist than others? It is argued that neither pure micro‐, nor pure macro‐explanations can account for the great variation in the degree of corporatism (however measured) among western countries. Instead, an institutional variant is put forward, where the structure of the state at the time of the formation of working‐class organizations is taken as the main independent variable. It has been shown that the development of collaborative or confrontational labor movements was decided by the reaction of the existing political elites to the demands from the working class in the pre‐World War I period. Where suffrage came late, and where the class system was rigid. a radical/revolutionary orientation would dominate the working‐class movement, hindering corporatist arrangements, and vice versa. The problem with this argument is that it does not fit the Swedish case. Although democracy was introduced comparatively late and although the class system was rigid, Sweden has been considered the nearly ideal‐typical case of corporatism. It is argued that the deviant Swedish case can be explained by the specific structure of the pre‐democratic Swedish state ‐ centralized, but not closed; bureaucratic and professional but not especially authoritarian; differentiated but not without central coordination of policy.
A Crisis of Party?*
Authors: Daalder Hans
Published: October 2007

The debate about the (future) role of political parties in modern democracies suffers from generally unacknowledged normative preconceptions as well as a tendency to reason in terms of ‘inevitable’ social processes, rather than precise theoretical reasoning or empirical analysis. At least four distinct bodies of thought affect the discussion about the assumed crisis of party: (1) the view that parties are a danger to the good society, leading to the denial of parties as legitimate actors; (2) the belief that some types of parties are ‘good’ and others ‘bad’, causing a selective rejection of parties; (3) the proposition that certain party systems are ‘good’ and others ‘bad’, resulting in a selective rejection of party systems; and (4) the affirmation that parties are becoming redundant. The latter suggestion is shown in a variety of approaches ‐e. g. the idea that parties are transient agents of democratization, the analysis of parties as mere market‐forces, the assumption that parties do not matter in policies, and the view, as exemplified by neocorporatism, that parties inevitably lose their functions to other political actors. The pervasive presence of aprioristic views suggests the need for a conceptual house‐cleaning, the importance of distinguishing normative from empirical arguments, and the need for more detailed empirical research, giving due weight to differences between countries, party systems, parties and periods instead of postulating inexorable trends.
Philosophical Argument and Political Practice: On the Methodology of Normative Theory*
Authors: Malnes Raino
Published: October 2007

The article discusses methodological issues in normative political theory. The basic assumption is that normative theory has a dual purpose in both establishing valid principles of differentiating right from wrong and influencing actions and institutions in the right direction. The article starts by distinguishing between two approaches to normative political theory: one stresses the interpretation of existing ideas and conventions; the other takes on the constructivist task of finding out what is really right. Then the relationship between theory and practice is explored. The question is how philosophical arguments can instigate practical reform. It is argued that practical considerations should be incorporated as an explicit element of normative political theory. The recommendation is. in particular, that philosophical theories enter into dialogue with the moral conventions of everyday life. whose normative force people already acknowledge.
Is Anti‐Rationalism Rational? The Case of F. A. Hayek*
Authors: Lundström Mats
Published: October 2007

The theme addressed is the criticism of constructivism and rationalism in politics as presented in the political theory of F. A. Hayek. Hayek's thesis is that goal‐directed rationality in politics is counter‐final. The main argument of this article is that on closer examination Hayek appears to be a constructivist himself. The purpose of Hayek's anti‐rationalism is primarily ideological and instrumental. Hayek wants to induce certain anti‐rationalistic beliefs because he believes rationalism has bad consequences. Yet this very project can be considered a case of goal‐directed rationality. Furthermore, the argument is that Hayek mixes abstract philosophical doctrine with empirical theory. In his critique of constructivism, Hayek confuses two notions of ‘rationality’. On the one hand he argues against epistemological rationalism associated with Descartes, and on the other he argues against the subjectivistic, action‐oriented notion of ‘rationality’ associated with the idea of ‘economic man’. Arguments against Cartesian rationalism do not, however, imply the impossibility of goal‐directed rationalism in politics. The so‐called information problem cannot be solved at an epistemological level. It is a practical problem, which Hayek has certain ideas how to solve. The argument here, therefore, is that Hayek's thesis of ‘tacit knowledge’ is not an expression of skepticism as is often believed.
Social Choice in the Real World
Authors: Lagerspetz Eerik
Published: October 2007

The discussion of strategic voting and agenda manipulation tends to be highly abstract. Most real‐world examples are either artificial or politically insignificant; the few paradigmatic examples which do exist are discussed again and again. This is one reason why many empirically minded political scientists often ignore the whole social choice approach. The purpose of this article is to focus on a single event ‐ the election of the Finnish President in 1956 ‐ and to show that almost all theoretically interesting phenomena studied in the social‐choice literature were present. The paper is based on empirical material, especially on subjective descriptions provided by the main actors. This kind of approach is recommended as a complement to the deductive‐theoretical approach.
In From the Cold? Christian Parties in Scandinavia
Authors: Karvonen Lauri
Published: October 2007

The combination of extreme religious homogeneity and advanced secularization is a special feature of the Scandinavian societies as compared to the rest of Europe. This difference largely explains why Christian parties have remained small compared to the rest of Europe. This article surveys the creation and popular following of the Christian parties in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The four parties acquired an image of “moral vigilantes” from the beginning. Their best electoral results, however, are a result of a more general political protest. Despite the recent success of the Swedish party, the parties are not likely to reach a position beyond that of a minor party with basically a moralist image.
Coping with Poverty: The Impact of Fiscal Austerity on the Local Budgetary Process in Norway
Authors: Sørensen Rune J. , Underdal Arild
Published: October 2007

This article examines the impact of public sector austerity on the budgetary process in local government. We initially propose that resource squeeze influences the criteria of resource allocation. More specifically, we suggest that austerity tends to generate a greater emphasis on performance‐based criteria such as cost‐benefit assessments, while arguments relating to production costs, previous commitments and relative standards of service supply tend to carry less weight. A regression model is developed to test these hypotheses. Response variables, drawn from a survey conducted among Norwegian local government officials, measure the success of a menu of arguments which justify increased appropriations, and we examine whether austerity affects the perceived success of these arguments. Consistent with previous studies, we find no impact of stress on decision‐making behavior in local government. We do not believe that this result can be dismissed as merely a by‐product of our research design. This conclusion leaves us with at least two possible interpretations. One suggests that austerity affects the criteria of resource allocation if, and only if, decision‐makers perceive the squeeze to exert a persistent and inescapable pressure which requires a fundamental redefinition of managerial style. This has hardly been the case in Norwegian local government. The other interpretation suggests that the criteria for resource allocation in fact remain unchanged, even in situations when austerity is believed to be persistent. Inertia can be caused by (a) the disproportional disutility attributed to budgetary cut‐backs compared to the benefits of appropriation increases, (b) the propensity to attribute austerity to “external” rather than “internal” causes, and (c), problems related to aggregating individual preferences and criteria into a coherent organizational policy of resource allocation.
Comparative Research in the Nordic Countries: Overcoming Ethnocentrism?1
Authors: Anckar Dag
Published: October 2007

In the beginning of the 1970s comparative politics was still a neglected genre in Nordic political science. During that decade, however, comparative research started to make headway. An examination of articles published in five leading Nordic political science journals during the 1980s indicates that more than one‐tenth of the content was devoted to comparative research. The examination suggests that the Nordic approach to the small‐N problem in comparative research is variegated: binary comparisons constitute just over one‐quarter of the volume, whereas the share of studies exploiting three to five cases is slightly larger, and the share of studies discussing more than five cases is slightly larger still. However, in the selection of cases for study, a more clear‐cut strategy and pattern is revealed. It is clear from the journal data that Nordic comparativists escape ethnocentrism by turning to another ethnocentrism ‐ i. e. they are predominantly preoceupied with the Nordic countries. While this emphasis on Nordic comparisons certainly can be defended on methodological grounds, doubts can be raised about the overall methodological justification of the Nordic orientation. The risks involved are not always recognized. What is known as Galton's problem merits special attention in a Nordic context. The nature of the problem is that empirical relationships may be the result of learning, which means that the cases studied lack independence. Since it is evident that a lot of diffusion occurs in the Nordic countries, the challenges posed by Galton's problem should receive much more attention in Nordic research than is presently the case.
Corporatism, Administrative Regimes and the Mis‐management of Public Funds
Authors: Christensen Jørgen Grønnegaard
Published: October 2007

Danish democracy has strong corporatist characteristics. The implication is that interest organizations are integrated in both policy‐making and policy implementation. This article deals with policy implementation. A distinction between different administrative regimes is developed. The proposition advanced here is that variations with respect to the involvement of interest organizations in administrative execution of public policy have consequences for administrative behavior. A number of scandals revealed during recent years concerning the management of public funds provide the basis of the empirical analysis. The conclusion is that with increased involvement of interest organizations in the administrative implementation of policy, legal norms are superseded by political norms, while the traditional institutions of administrative accountability are weakened.
The 1990 Presidential Election in Poland
Authors: Szulkin Ryszard
Published: October 2007

This article examines the conditions that appear to have influenced political preferences of Poles during the presidential election in November 1990. The first section offers a short introduction to the political and economic situation of Poland after the rise to power of Solidarity. A short presentation of the main candidates, Walesa, Mazowiecki and Tyminski, and their political profiles is also provided here. Then results from a survey conducted one week before the first round of the presidential elections are presented and discussed. It is concluded that there were some systematic differences in socio‐economic status and values of the supporters of the main candidates. Specific features of Mazowiecki's electorate were: high social position, high level of education and high income. Typical values for this group were political and economic liberalism. Characteristic of Walesa's electorate were a low level of education, higher age, and an occupation as a small businessman. Conservative Catholic morality, anti‐Semitism and pro‐market attitudes were overrepresented among Walesa's supporters. Tyminski's supporters, finally, were disproportionately working class and young persons. His electorate was anti‐liberal in both the political and the economic meaning of the word. His supporters were often opponents of traditional Catholic morality.
Issue Perceptions of Parties and Candidates: A Comparison of Norway and the United States
Authors: Listhaug Ola , Macdonald Stuart Elaine , Rabinowitz George
Published: October 2007

We examine how clearly citizens in Norway and the United States perceive the ideology and issue positions of parties and candidates. Following in the tradition of Campbell & Valen (1966) and Granberg & Holmberg (1988). we ask: Does the political system matter? We also consider the role of individual sophistication and whether sophistication has different consequences in the two cultural setting. Across a broad range of issues, we find that citizens in Norway have a sharper view of party positions than those in the United States. Sophistication influences the clarity of issue perception in both countries. However, the hypothesis that sophistication matters more in the US is not well supported.
Do Local Politicians Respond to Citizens' Demands? A Microanalysis of Norwegian Local Government
Authors: Sørensen Rune J. , Hagen Terje P.
Published: October 2007

The correspondence between citizens' preferences and the preferences of the elected politicians is a critical concern of democratic institutions. Models founded on the central tendency of politicians' behaviour in elections, such as the median‐voter model and the model of the “uncovered set”, predict that politicians respond to local demands. Other models, notably those that assume imperfectly informed citizens and representatives, predict lack of response. The present article relies on a demand model. We estimate the model by combining survey data for 80 Norwegian municipalities with information on economic, social and demographic factors. The study uses independent surveys to measure the spending preferences of citizens and representatives. The politicians' and the citizens' demand functions are structurally similar, and the article demonstrates that the spending preferences of the representatives are positively related to preferences of the electorate. Alternative interpretations of these findings are discussed.
Quentin Skinner: From Historian of Ideas to Political Scientist
Authors: Edling Max , Mörkenstam Ulf
Published: October 2007

This article is an assessment of Quentin Skinner's contribution to the study of political change and to the contemporary debate in political philosophy. We argue that the significance of Skinner's work to a large extent has been neglected by political scientists, as they have tended to regard him solely as a historian of ideas rather than as a political scientist. However, Skinner's approach not only offers valuable methodological lessons but a historically grounded framework that accounts for the relationship between human agency and the structural language‐context, that make actions meaningful. This allows for a conception of historical change that is neither narrowly structuralist nor exclusively focused on the individual agent. In his most recent historical works, Skinner has entered the main debate of contemporary political philosophy, i. e. the debate between liberals and communitarians. Here, his analysis of the classical republican tradition of political thought, attempts a revitalization of the debate beyond the stereotypes of liberalism and Aristotelianism. This work points towards the possibility of developing a radical reconception of modern liberal democracy.
The Struggle for Democracy in Indonesia: An Actor–Structure Approach
Authors: Uhlin Anders
Published: October 2007

Processes of democratization and the struggle for democracy are best studied from an actor‐structure perspective. In this article the struggle for democracy in contemporary Indonesia is seen as attempts by pro‐democracy actors to change authoritarian structures. Actors and structures preventing and favouring democracy are discussed. During the past few years the Indonesian pro‐democracy movement has grown significantly, but it is quite heterogeneous. Various pro‐democracy actors tend to concentrate their struggle on different authoritarian structures. Structures of ideas as well as behavioural structures supporting authoritarianism are strong, but on balance the prospects for at least a limited form of democracy are quite good.
Old and New Politics in Denmark
Authors: Borre Öle
Published: October 2007

A New Politics dimension of non‐economic issue preferences emerged in Denmark during the 1980s. The new dimension is clearly separated from the traditional economic Old Politics dimension, though the two are correlated. The New Politics dimension has not given rise to viable new parties but is represented by three medium‐sized parties: the Sodalist People's and Radical Liberal parties constitute the New Left, and the Progressive Party constitutes the New Right. The three old class parties contribute little towards explaining the individual variance in the position of New Politics; as always, the Social Democratic Party represents the Old Left while the Liberal and Conservative parties represent the Old Right. In terms of social positions, New Left attitudes are correlated especially with level of school education and with employment in the reproductive sectors.
Swedish Corporatism in Social Welfare Policy, 1986–1994: An Empirical Examination
Authors: Hoefer Richard
Published: October 2007

Recent literature suggests that Swedish politics is decorporatizing. This article reports on the results of a survey of Swedish interest groups active in social welfare policy, administered in 1986 and 1994. The results cast considerable doubt on the decorporatization thesis. Little change is discernible between the two surveys on indicators of key corporatist behaviours on the part of interest groups and government. The immediate goal of the article is to provide evidence that the Swedish system is not, in fact, decorporatizing to the extent cited in recent literature. A larger aim, however, is to push the study of corporatism in a more empirical direction. The value of the theory will be enhanced if researchers are more precise about what it means and what behaviours should follow from it.