Territorial reforms, mobilisation, and political trust

A case study from Norway

Bibliographic Data

ID6302523
AuthorsJonas Stein (0000-0003-2714-5624, Department of Social Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway, corresponding author), Troy Saghaug Broderstad (0000-0001-7058-5348, University of Bergen), Hilde Bjørnå (0000-0002-1091-3896, Department of Social Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway)
Year2023
Volume49
Issue3
Pages568-589
Publication date2023-05-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLocal Government Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0300-3930 • E-ISSN: 1743-9388
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03003930.2021.2025360
OpenAlexW4206832648
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited65

The focus of this study is the political trust implications of territorial reforms, approaches to territorial reform, and the effects of the mobilisation of political-territorial collective identities. We focus on the political trust effects of political-territorial mobilisation grounded on territorial reforms, and of voluntary and forced structural reforms. The case examined is that of Norway, a country characterised by high levels of trust before a recent county reform. Utilising four survey waves from 2013 to 2019, we measure trust in national politicians both pre- and post-reform, giving us a quasi-experimental design. The findings indicate that political trust was not affected by whether the reform was forced on counties or they accepted it voluntarily. However, political trust was negatively affected by forced structural reforms in combination with regionalism, i.e., mobilisation of political-territorial collective identities. This finding provides new insight about how territorial reforms may affect political trust

Democracy · Political economy · Political opportunity · Political science · Politics · Regionalism (politics · Social movement · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Systems and Governance · Public Administration · Social Capital and Networks

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