Description
Book SynopsisA high-quality textbook which has earned a strong reputation and is cited by senior academics and undergraduates alike. It is essential reading for anyone who wishes to view Nordic politics and policy-making in a wider comparative perspective. -- .
Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Nordic states: a suitable case for comparison?
Part I: The making of modern Scandinavia
1. Settlers and empires
2. Nation-building and state-building, 1809–1944
Part II: The Scandinavian party system model
3. The emergence of the Scandinavian party system(s)
4. The historic strength of the five main types of party
5. ‘Big bang’ elections and party system change in Scandinavia: farewell to the ‘enduring party system’?
Part III: A distinctive model of political representation?
6. Selecting candidates and electing members of parliament in the Nordic region: an analytical framework
7. The personal vote and personal-vote-seeking: a shift towards an ‘individualised candidate campaign model’?
8. Political representation: a ‘demand side’ perspective
Part IV: A Nordic model of government?
9. The Nordic states: consensual democracies?
10. A Nordic model of government?
Part V: A Nordic model of parliamentarism?
11. The Nordic parliaments: much of a muchness ‘working parliaments’?
12. The Nordic parliaments: an alternative model?
13. Towards prime ministerial government or a presidentialised executive?
Part VI: The Nordic welfare model
14. Trouble in Paradise: W(h)ither the ‘Nordic welfare model’?
15. A new Nordic welfare model?
Part VII: The international relations of the Nordic states
16. The changing security environment in the Nordic region. From Cold War ‘security threats’ to the ‘security challenges’of today
17. ‘Reluctant Nordics’?
18. ‘Reluctant Europeans’? The Nordic states or the Nordic peoples?
19. The Nordic states: moral superpowers?
Index
