The Oxford Handbook of Norwegian Politics provides a comprehensive examination of Norway's political institutions, politics, public policy-making, and international relations.
As the introductory chapter highlights, Norway has traditionally been characterized as a stable, homogeneous, corporatist, and consensus-oriented democracy. At the same time, it is well established that many of the country's distinctive features have been challenged and have perhaps declined in recent decades. Norway has evolved in the face of rapid economic growth, significant government access to massive oil revenues, deindustrialization, public sector expansion, increasing cultural pluralism and economic inequality, as well as growing party system fragmentation and the decline of the once-dominant social democratic party. This Handbook gives readers an updated account of major political developments and what characterizes Norway's politics compared to other countries in Scandinavia and beyond.
The diverse set of authors, selected for their in-depth knowledge and extensive expertise, offer valuable insights into the different aspects of Norwegian politics. Each chapter offers foundational knowledge about the present Norwegian system while presenting state-of-the-art overviews of key issues and findings drawn from the most relevant research in the respective fields. The authors also provide original analyses of more specialized topics or trace historical developments and overarching trends. With over seventy contributors and written in an accessible manner, this Handbook is an indispensable resource for understanding Norwegian politics.
The Oxford Handbook of Norwegian Politics provides a comprehensive examination of Norway's political institutions, politics, public policy-making, and international relations.
1: Elin Haugsgjerd Allern, Målfrid Braut-Hegghammer, Kristoffer
Kolltveit, and Bjørn Erik Rasch: Introduction: Norway, A Stable Democracy in
Flux
I. Constitutional Design and Political Institutions
2: Eirik Holmøyvik: The Constitution
3: Bjørn Høyland: Parliament
4: Jostein Askim: The Norwegian Cabinet
5: Jonas Stein and Bjørn Erik Rasch: Executive-Legislative Relations:
Negative Parliamentarism and its Consequences for Governing Norway
6: Bernt Aardal and Jørgen Bølstad: The Electoral System: Representing Voters
and Territory
7: Kristoffer Kolltveit and Jarle Trondal: The Norwegian Central Government:
A Robust Yet Adaptive Apparatus
8: Øyvind Stiansen: The Courts
9: Signy Irene Vabo: Municipalities and Regions: Further Reform Required
10: Sirianne Dahlum and Carl Henrik Knutsen: The State of Norwegian
Democracy
II. Electoral and Legislative Politics
11: Dag Arne Christensen and Kristin Strømsnes: Political Participation and
Voter Turnout Inequalities in Norway
12: Maiken Røed and Torill Stavenes: The Party Organizations
13: Peter Egge Langsæther: Polarization and Cleavage Conflict in a
Multidimensional Party System
14: Johannes Bergh and Atle H. Haugsgjerd: Voting Behaviour in Norway: Social
Structure, Ideology, and Issue Ownership
15: Anne Lise Fimreite and Elisabeth Ivarsflaten: Populism in Norwegian
Politics
16: Anders Ravik Jupskås and Jacob Aasland Ravndal: Extremism and
Counter-Extremism in Norway
17: Rune Karlsen: Election Campaigns
18: Jo Saglie and Signe Bock Segaard: Local Electoral Politics: How Local Are
Norwegian Local Elections?
19: Oda Nedregård and Martin Søyland: Legislative Party Groups in the
Storting: Cohesion and Discipline
20: Kaare W. Strøm: Parties and Governments: Two-bloc Politics and Minority
Cabinets
21: Elin Haugsgjerd Allern and Vibeke Wøien Hansen: Interest Groups in
Norwegian Politics: Strategies, Access, and Influence
22: Toril Aalberg: Media and Politics in Norway
23: Staffan Kumlin and Jonas Linde: Political Trust in Norway: A Large but
Lopsided Research Field
24: Mari S. Helliesen, Ruben Mathisen, and Yvette Peters: The Fairest of Them
All? Political Representation and Equality in Norway
III. Policy Making and Public Policies
25: Adriana Bunea and Idunn Nørbech: Public Policymaking and Stakeholder
Consultations in Norway
26: Johan Christensen and Stine Hesstvedt: The Role of Experts in
Policymaking
27: Hilmar Rommetvedt and Kristine Nergaard: Changing Characteristics of
Corporatism and Tripartite Cooperation
28: Einar Lie: Economic Policies and the Oil Fund
29: Magnus B. Rasmussen: The Norwegian Welfare State
30: Jens Jungblut and Mari Elken: Searching for the Right Balance between
Equality and Differentiation - Education Policies in Norway
31: Terje P. Hagen and Eli Feiring: Health Policy Reforms for Three Decades -
Then Returning to Square One?
32: Cathrine Holst and Mari Teigen: Gender Equality Policies in Norway: From
Innovator to Laggard?
33: Torvald Falch and Per Selle: Indigenous Policies: Sámi System-building
through Internationalization and Legalization
34: Vilde Hernes and Anne Balke Staver: Immigration and Integration Policy
35: Dag Harald Claes: Energy Policy: Resource Abundance and External
Challenges
36: Alf Håkon Hoel and Jahn Petter Johnsen: Norway's Fisheries and
Aquaculture Policies: In Search of Sustainability
37: Elin Lerum Boasson and Lars H. Gulbrandsen: Paradoxes of Twin Crises:
Nature Protection and Climate Governance in Norway
IV. International Relations
38: Målfrid Braut-Hegghammer: Norwegian Foreign Policy: Shifts under the
Surface
39: Kjell Inge Bjerga: Norwegian Defence Policy
40: Kristin Ven Bruusgaard and Stig Stenslie: Norwegian Intelligence
41: Kristian Berg Harpviken and Torunn L. Tryggestad: Norway's Peace
Diplomacy: Punching above its Weight Class?
42: Sunniva Engh: Development Aid
43: Janne Haaland Matlary: Westward Bound: Norway in NATO
44: Johannes Gullestad Rø and Ingeborg Nortvedt Bjur: The Plea for a
Guarantee: Norway and the United States (1945-2024)
45: Geir Flikke: From Involvement to Entanglement: Norwegian-Russian
Relations (1992-2022)
46: Guri Rosén and Ulf Sverdrup: Norway and the European Union
47: Mats Berdal: Norway and the United Nations, Balancing Idealism and
Realpolitik
48: Paal Sigurd Hilde and Sven G. Holtsmark: The High North and the Arctic
Kristoffer Kolltveit is Professor in Political Science at the University of Oslo. His research focuses on ministers and cabinet-decision-making, central administration, and political communication. His work has been published in many outlets including International Journal of Press/Politics, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Party Politics.
Elin Haugsgjerd Allern is Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo. Her research interests include political parties, interest groups, political representation, and public policy-making. She has published multiple books, including Left-of-Centre Parties and Trade Unions in the Twenty-First Century (OUP, 2017, edited with Tim Bale), and numerous articles in different outlets including Party Politics, Journal of European Public Policy, and European Journal of Political Research.
Målfrid Braut-Hegghammer is Professor of War Studies at King's College London and Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo. She is the founding director of the Oslo Nuclear Project. Her work has been published in numerous outlets including International Security, The Middle East Journal, The New York Times (online), and International Herald Tribune, and in her book Unclear Physics: Why Iraq and Libya Failed to Build Nuclear Weapons (Cornell University Press, 2016).
Bjørn Erik Rasch is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Political Science, University of Oslo. He has published fifteen books as (co)author or (co)editor and numerous journal articles. Rasch was a member of a Constitutional Commission appointed by the Norwegian Parliament in 2003 to modernize the Norwegian Court of Impeachment and a committee who designed a new electoral system for the Sami Parliament in Northern Norway (the Sami Act).
