Introduction: The peculiarities of Norway

Abstract

The Norwegian tradition in comparative political research, from Stein Rokkan onwards, has impressed a profiled picture of national peculiarities on the international scholarly community – the corporatist mode of government, the strength of the rural districts and the periphery, the egalitarianism and the deep structure of social democratic norms across the political spectrum. The established picture is now increasingly an outdated stereotype, and we explain here why and how Norwegian governance is being rapidly transformed. Still, traditional features have an impact on the direction and pace of transformation. Neo-liberal reforms are of a peculiar type in Norway, and globalisation and Europeanisation do not wipe out all prior characteristics. Even if the Nordic model of politics fades in the rear-view mirror, there are lessons to be learnt also elsewhere, on the conditions of statehood and representative government. On the basis of the recent Norwegian Power and Democracy Study (1998 – 2003), new analyses are presented in order to generalise the Norwegian case within a comparative and international framework.