The Nordic Countries: From the Rokkan Model (“uns”) to the Touraine Model (“ich”)

Abstract

Comparative politics like any comparative studies needs models with which to interpret lots of facts. Theoretical models orientate the data towards parsimony in understanding of key relationships and focus the debate on key issues. Politics in the Nordic countries used to be modelled as an exceptionally stable set of multi-party systems, based upon social cleavages as well as PR in a unitary state with comprehensive decentralisation to the local governments (communes). This model owes much to Norwegian social scientist Stein Rokkan, who traces the basic cleavages (ethnic, religious, class) to historical legacies and social organisation of civil society. Its key feature is electoral stability: “frozen party systems”. However, recently the processes of European integration and globalisation have undermined Scandinavian exceptionalism, resulting in rising political instability, electoral volatility and populist or anti-foreigner parties with considerable support. The typical political hegemony of the Social Democratic Parties (“Arbeiterbewegung”) is a thing of the past, as governments come and go in rapid fashion. As these societies have adapted to the pressures from global capitalism, inequalities in income and wealth have shot up. Yet, the Nordic welfare state has been trimmed but not abolished, as all countries have accepted some of the basic ideas in both New Public Management and further regional or local decentralisation. Adding these major changes together, we must chose another theoretical model, namely the Alain Touraine thesis about the weakening of political sociology and firm social institutions on the one hand as well as the spread of individualism and egoism on the other hand—“la fin de la societe”. The recent flows of migrants to Scandinavia and Finland have further increased centrifugal tendencies.