Party system change in Scandinavia since 1970: ‘Restricted change’ or ‘general change'?

Abstract

This article sets out to examine the extent of party system change in Scandinavia since the ‘earthquake elections’ in the early 1970s witnessed the parliamentary breakthrough of new parties and, in particular, the rise of a populist radical right. It deploys an analytical framework derived from Berglund and Lindström's five‐party Scandinavian model and an identification of the ‘core structures’ of the frozen party system in the region. In assessing party system change the significance of changes in the patterns of interaction between parties at the elite level, that is in the governmental and parliamentary arenas, is emphasised over and above electoral change. It is argued that the core features of the Scandinavian party systems have changed much less since 1970 than the structure of party competition and that the single most important development in the party politics of the region has been that the historic non‐socialist groupings have acquired increased ‘relevance’ as coalition parties both severally and collectively. The article concludes by asking: ‘so what?’ Can an indication of the extent of party system change be of assistance in understanding the wider workings of the political system and the operation of the legislative process?