Scandinavian Political Studies

Beyond the Ivory Tower? Security Studies Scholarship in Denmark and Norway This article examines how academic national security expertise in Denmark and Norway translates into public visibility and engagement opportunities. While a largely US-centred literature on the pract...

What decides who is heard in national security policy debates? Read all about academic security experts’ place in national security policy debates in the article Beyond the Ivory Tower? Security Studies Scholarship in Denmark and Norway, doi.org/10.1111/1467....
@rynning.bsky.social

@linnsandberg.bsky.social

Preaching to the Unconverted: How Politicians Attacking the Media Influence Citizens' Evaluation of News Credibility In the contemporary digital information landscape, the dissemination of news is frequently intertwined with critiques from political figures. Populist politicians, especially, have used social media ....

How does critique by politicians affect citizens’ perception of news credibility? Read more in the article Preaching to the Unconverted: How Politicians Attacking the Media Influence Citizens' Evaluation of News Credibility, by Andrea Ceron and Linn Sandberg, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

@karvinkarv.bsky.social

Between Liberal and Illiberal Visions of Society: Elite–Voter Ideological Congruence in Finland This study addresses a research gap in the scholarship on elite–voter linkages by focusing on ideological issue congruence between party elites and voters on a liberal–illiberal scale. Prior research...

Are party elites more extreme than regular voters on a liberal-illiberal scale? And what explains support for illiberal issue positions? Read more in the article Between Liberal and Illiberal Visions of Society: Elite–Voter Ideological Congruence in Finland, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

@dweisstanner.bsky.social @silkegoubin.bsky.social

Why Some Want Something for Nothing: Three Explanations for Unfunded Spending Demand Several studies have documented ‘something for nothing’ (SFN) attitudes among citizens: preferences for increased government spending and lower taxes. Such a demand for unfunded public spending may g...

What explains citizens’ demand for increased government spending and lower taxes simultaneously? Read about an original survey in Norway in the article Why Some Want Something for Nothing: Three Explanations for Unfunded Spending Demand, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

The Politics of School Choice in Scandinavia: Why so Stark Differences? Since the 1980s, Scandinavian countries have pursued performance-oriented education, yet only Sweden and Denmark adopted school choice reforms—while Norway stood apart by not introducing it. Sweden p...

Should students and parents be able to choose between schools or should students simply be allocated to their nearest schools? Read more on the role of politics and vested interests in The Politics of School Choice in Scandinavia: Why so Stark Differences?, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

How does mediatization affect the norms and everyday practices of civil servants? Media logic not only demands communication skills but also penetrates the internal culture of the civil service. Read more in Mediatization of the Danish Central Government, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

Gamson's Law in the City Hall: The Populist Radical Right and the Dilemma of Allocating Municipal Portfolios in Sweden Does the proportional distribution of office payoffs between coalition partners, known as ‘Gamson's Law’, hold at the local level? And can the inclusion of a populist radical right (PRR) party in a c...

Does proportional distribution of office payoffs between coalition partners hold at the local level? And the radical right? Read more in Gamson's Law in the City Hall: The Populist Radical Right and the Dilemma of Allocating Municipal Portfolios in Sweden. @mariusperrin.bsky.social

Asymmetric Influence: Politicians Can Fuel but Not Dampen Conflict Research from the deeply polarized United States suggests that the impact of elite communication is asymmetrical: antagonistic messages often heighten divisions, while positive appeals fail to dampen...

How does elite communication affect perceptions of conflict? For political leaders, it is apparently easier to fan the flames of conflict than to put out the fire. See the new article Asymmetric Influence: Politicians Can Fuel but Not Dampen Conflict, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

Narratives in the Farm Animal Welfare Policy Process Traditional boundaries between policy areas are being challenged as farm animal welfare raises controversies. In this article we use data from the consultation process for a new white paper from the ...

Is maintaining food production levels and economic sustainability more fundamental than introducing new animal welfare measures? Read more on conflicting policies and diverse narratives in Narratives in the Farm Animal Welfare Policy Process, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

The Epistemic Habits of Danish Populists: Objectivity, Legitimacy and Evidence Epistemic conflicts and disagreements characterise our political debates, as consensus surrounding what qualifies as legitimate knowledge in political settings becomes increasingly difficult to maint....

How do political groups produce, value, and judge knowledge? And how does that conform with such knowledge connected with other political groups? Read more in The Epistemic Habits of Danish Populists: Objectivity, Legitimacy and Evidence, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

Political News Consumption and Media Source Preferences During Election Campaigns: A Rolling Cross‐Sectional Analysis This study examines political news consumption patterns among Icelandic voters during the 2021 parliamentary election campaign, tracking developments on a daily basis leading up to election day. Whil....

In Iceland, those who rely on social media are found to be highly interested in politics, diverging from patterns elsewhere. Read more in Political News Consumption and Media Source Preferences During Election Campaigns: A Rolling Cross-Sectional Analysis, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

Distinct From the Nordic Revolving Door? The Before and Post‐Appointment Employment of High‐Ranking Political Aides in Finland The movement of political aides to the Finnish government between businesses or lobbyist organisations and government roles—the revolving door—has been debated since the 2000s. That scrutiny has incl...

High-ranking political aides in Finland are often linked to lobbyism. Read more in Distinct From the Nordic Revolving Door? The Before and Post-Appointment Employment of High-Ranking Political Aides in Finland, by Ville-Pekka Niskanen and Jari Autioniemi, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

Rally‐Round‐the‐Flag: The Case of COVID‐19 in Denmark Rally-round-the-flag describes a situation where voters rally behind their government and leader in the fight against an external enemy. The COVID-19 pandemic was such an external enemy and Danish vo...

Voters rallied behind the Danish Government at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that increased support gradually diminished during the pandemic period. See Kasper M. Hansen’s research note Rally-Round-the-Flag: The Case of COVID-19 in Denmark, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

The Sole Effect of Double Standards—How Public Scandalization of Political Hypocrisy Influences Citizens' Democratic Trust and Engagement Political hypocrisy is popularly understood as the discrepancy between what an individual says they believe one ought to do, and what they themselves actually do. Political hypocrisy is thus often li...

Does political hypocrisy affect the functioning of democracy? Read The Sole Effect of Double Standards—How Public Scandalization of Political Hypocrisy Influences Citizens' Democratic Trust and Engagement by Silas Harrebye, Anders Ejrnæs and Mark Ørsten, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

Swedish Members of Parliament's Perceived Ability to Act on Climate Change This study explores how Swedish politicians perceive their ability to influence climate policy in relation to their ideals of political representation. Through in-depth interviews with nine Swedish m...

Are MPs able to influence climate policy in Sweden? Through output structures yes. Less so in terms of influencing the electorate, if the policies involve lifestyle changes. See Swedish Members of Parliament's Perceived Ability to Act on Climate Change, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

Gender and Support for Climate Change Policies: The Case of Offshore Wind Farms Women express stronger environmental concern and more pro-active climate change attitudes, but whether gender differences translate to gaps in policy preferences is less known. Attitude gaps might no...

Women’s stronger environmental concern does not mean they are more likely to support climate policies, according to a new study by Henning Finseraas and Charlotte Luckner, Gender and Support for Climate Change Policies: The Case of Offshore Wind Farms, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

The Impact of Three Crises on the Hegemony of Finland's Nuclear Power Elite Finland is a homogenous corporatist country characterised by a tight-knit, consensus-seeking nuclear power elite that has had a close relationship with Russia for decades. The Finnish nuclear power e...

Have external crises like Fukushima, the occupation of Crimea and Russia’s attack on Ukraine in 2022 challenged the legitimacy of Finland’s nuclear energy policy? See The Impact of Three Crises on the Hegemony of Finland's Nuclear Power Elite, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

Normative Governance for Green Policies: Exploring the Practices of Civil Society Societal norm formation is crucial in shaping collective action on global challenges such as climate change. This study explores the norm-building role of civil society organizations (CSOs) by examin...

Civil society organizations play an important role in shaping climate action through normative governance mechanisms. Read more in Normative Governance for Green Policies: Exploring the Practices of Civil Society by Håkon Solbu Trætteberg and Marte Winsvold, doi.org/10.1111/1467....

The Politics of Statutory Extensions of Collective Bargaining in Norway By extending collective wage agreements through the force of law, states can prop up dwindling collective bargaining. This is a common policy in Continental Europe, but less so in Scandinavia. Norway...

Can states extend collective wage agreements through the force of law, thus propping up dwindling collective bargaining? Trond Holmen Erlien and Georg Picot @gpicot.bsky.social examine this feature in Norwegian labour market politics and the appears to be positive. doi.org/10.1111/1467....

Institutional Responses to Threats and Harassment of Academics: Evidence From a Survey Among Political Scientists in Norway In an era marked by increasing polarization, academics face growing risks of harassment and threats, particularly when engaging in politically sensitive research or public discourse. This study inves....

A small but significant share of surveyed political scientists experience harassment or threats, particularly when engaged in politically sensitive research or public discourse, according to a new study by @arjupskas.bsky.social, Iris B. Segers and @audreygagnon.bsky.social. doi.org/10.1111/1467...

Citizen Engagement on Social Media Government Pages: Insights From Nordic Municipalities This article explores the adoption and use of social media at the local level, focusing on how communication managers (or administrators) in Nordic municipalities leverage platforms such as Facebook,...

How are Nordic municipalities using social media and how engaged are their citizens? Raphaël Zumofen, Vincent Mabillard and Martial Pasquier explore the adoption and use of social media by Nordic municipalities, and citizen engagement using such platforms. doi.org/10.1111/1467...

Self‐Reliant Citizens, Market Deregulation, and Labour Flexibility: The Case of Finnish Entrepreneurship Strategy (2000–2022) Since 2000, entrepreneurship has come to occupy a central position in Finnish policy, praised not simply as a form of work but as a disciplinary ethos that places increased responsibility on the indi...

Entrepreneurship occupies a central position in Finnish policy. But its reality differs starkly from policy expectations and predictions. In this article, Anuhya Bobba analyses strategy documents and argues they advocate market deregulation and stripping labour protections. doi.org/10.1111/1467...

Cabinet Turbulence and Political Scandals—Accountability Under Pressure This article adds to studies of why ministers lose their posts due to political scandals while a government is still in office. It examines the ministerial resignation process in terms of accountabil...

What makes ministers lose their posts while a government is still in office? Tom Christensen and Per Lægreid examine the ministerial resignation process in terms of accountability concepts, drawing on eight recent examples from Norway. doi.org/10.1111/1467...

Elite Deliberation at the Local Level ‐ Politicians and Civil Servants Reaching Agreements in a Swedish Municipality This paper studies the introduction of an innovative way of organizing local politics, through a new system for management and governance system in the Swedish municipality Timrå. The study is focuse...

Does elite deliberation at the local level live up to the ideals of a deliberative and consensus-oriented model for decision making? Yes, largely it does according to a new study by Sofie Blombäck and Gustav Lidén (@gustavliden.bsky.social) doi.org/10.1111/1467...

Trustees, Delegates, and Direct Democracy: Exploring Mass‐Elite Incongruence in Perceptions of Advisory Referendums Previous research has demonstrated that the legitimacy of a majority-rule procedure, as perceived by the general population, is dependent on turnout, the size of the majority, and the favourability o...

Drawing on Norway‘s EU referendum, Troy Saghaug Broderstad, Sveinung Arnesen, Mikael P. Johannesson and Jonas Linde conclude there is an elite-citizen procedural congruence when it comes to the legitimacy of majority-rule procedure. See the full article here: doi.org/10.1111/1467...

The Link Between Individual Predispositions and Misperceptions About Immigrants: Insights From Denmark Misperceptions about immigration and immigrants are widespread throughout the Western world. A common explanation for this prevalence, relying on motivated reasoning theory, stresses the role of pred...

Do predispositions—such as beliefs, attitudes and biases—shape misperceptions about immigration and immigrants? Not according to a new study by Rasmus Sandy Harboesgaard Nielsen, Karen N. Breidahl and Troels Fage Hedegaard. Nor does self-reported knowledge. doi.org/10.1111/1467...

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