Party system change in Scandinavia since 1970

Restricted change’ or ‘general change

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6407316
AutoresDavid Arter (0000-0002-4000-9611, a Professor of Nordic Politics and Director of the Nordic Policy Studies Centre , University of Aberdeen, autor de correspondencia)
Año1999
Volumen22
Número3
Páginas139-158
Fecha de publicación1999-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaWest European Politics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0140-2382 • E-ISSN: 1743-9655
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01402389908425319
OpenAlexW2141535438
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas21

This article sets out to examine the extent of party system change in Scandinavia since the ‘earthquake elections’ in the early 1970s witnessed the parliamentary breakthrough of new parties and, in particular, the rise of a populist radical right. It deploys an analytical framework derived from Berglund and Lindström's five‐party Scandinavian model and an identification of the ‘core structures’ of the frozen party system in the region. In assessing party system change the significance of changes in the patterns of interaction between parties at the elite level, that is in the governmental and parliamentary arenas, is emphasised over and above electoral change. It is argued that the core features of the Scandinavian party systems have changed much less since 1970 than the structure of party competition and that the single most important development in the party politics of the region has been that the historic non‐socialist groupings have acquired increased ‘relevance’ as coalition parties both severally and collectively. The article concludes by asking: ‘so what?’ Can an indication of the extent of party system change be of assistance in understanding the wider workings of the political system and the operation of the legislative process

Communism · Competition (biology · Core (optical fiber · Electoral geography · Electoral system · Elite · Legislature · Multi-party system · Political change · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Realigning election · Relevance (law · Single non-transferable vote · Socialism · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Populism, Right-Wing Movements