Scandinavian Political Studies 

About: Scandinavian Political Studies is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Politics & Democracy. It has an ISSN identifier of 0080-6757. Over the lifetime, 1012 publications have been published receiving 22657 citations.

E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty‐first Century The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture

Abstract: Ethnic diversity is increasing in most advanced countries, driven mostly by sharp increases in immigration. In the long run immigration and diversity are likely to have important cultural, economic, fiscal, and developmental benefits. In the short run, however, immigration and ethnic diversity tend to reduce social solidarity and social capital. New evidence from the US suggests that in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods residents of all races tend to ‘hunker down’. Trust (even of one's own race) is lower, altruism and community cooperation rarer, friends fewer. In the long run, however, successful immigrant societies have overcome such fragmentation by creating new, cross-cutting forms of social solidarity and more encompassing identities. Illustrations of becoming comfortable with diversity are drawn from the US military, religious institutions, and earlier waves of American immigration.

From a Small to a Large Minority Women in Scandinavian Politics

Abstract: ‘It takes a critical mass of women, e.g. 30 percent, to make a difference in polities’ This statement is common today, even among women politicians themselves. However, the theory of the importance of the relative size of the minority has not been sufficiently developed in political science. Based on the experience of women in Scandinavian politics (today being a minority of about 30 percent), the article discusses six areas for which an increase in the proportion of the minority might lead to changes in for instance the political culture, the political discourse or the reaction to women as politicians. The article suggests that the concept of a critical mass is replaced by one of critical acts, which would seem to be more relevant when studying human beings.

The Democratic Anchorage of Governance Networks

Abstract: Governance through the negotiated interaction of a plurality of public, semi-public and private actors seems to provide an efficient means for governing our increasingly complex, fragmented and multi-layered societies. However, the big question is whether governance networks also contribute to the democratic governance of society. Governance network theory and post-liberal theories of democracy claim that there are both democratic problems and potentials associated with interactive network governance. In order to be able to assess, and possibly improve, the democratic performance of governance networks, the authors of this article develop and substantiate an analytical model for measuring the democratic anchorage of governance networks in different political constituencies and in an appropriate set of democratic rules and norms. In addition, it is argued that politicians should play a key role in efforts to ensure the democratic anchorage of governance networks.

Income Inequality and Demand for Redistribution: A Multilevel Analysis of European Public Opinion

Abstract: This article employs multilevel modeling to assess the importance of income inequality on the demand for redistribution in a sample of 22 European countries. According to standard political economy models of redistribution – notably the Meltzer-Richard model – inequality and demand for redistribution should be positively linked. However, existing empirical research has disputed this claim. The main advantages of this article is that demand for redistribution is measured at the individual level, and that the relevant interaction between inequality and own income is considered. The main findings are that inequality is positively associated with demand for redistribution, and that the median income person is sensitive to the level of inequality. These findings are robust to the inclusion of a range of relevant control variables. The results are relevant in relation to the increase in inequalities in many European countries, and especially relevant to the current debate about the importance of directly observable differences in public preferences for social policy outcomes.

Ethnic diversity and social capital in Europe: Tests of Putnam's thesis in European countries

Abstract: This article focuses on the core theory recently proposed by Putnam on the relationship between ethnic diversity and dimensions of social capital. Hypotheses are derived from this theory, but also from other theories that propose competing hypotheses on relationships between national characteristics and dimensions of social capital. Essentially, the authors propose more rigorous empirical tests of Putnam’s hypotheses by including these competing hypotheses: tests of these hypotheses provide possibilities to evaluate Putnam’s and these other theories in terms of general (i.e. cross-national) tenability for the European continent. The general question is: To what extent do national-level characteristics like ethnic diversity, next to other national characteristics, actually affect dimensions of social capital of individual citizens in European countries? The authors set out to answer this question by testing hypotheses on cross-national data from 28 European countries. These data contain valid measurements of a number of dimensions of social capital. The individual-level data are enriched with contextual- (i.e. national-) level characteristics to be included in more advanced multilevel analyses. The main finding is that Putnam’s hypothesis on ethnic diversity must be refuted in European societies. Instead, it is found that economic inequality and the national history of continuous democracy in European societies turn out to be more important for explaining cross-national differences in social capital in Europe.