The Nordic Model describes the economic and social models of the 5 Nordic countries; Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The model combines ‘growth and solidarity’ (TNMiNE, 2013) which results in the Nordic countries often presenting themselves at the top of the international ratings in the following areas: ‘equal distribution of income, competitiveness, innovation, employment, equality - gender equality and environmental stewardship’ (TNMiNE, 2013). The Scandinavian countries are commonly described as the five-party system or a 3 + 2 system containing the Social Democrats, Agrarian-Centre and the Conservative in the ‘3’ group and the Liberals and Communist in the ‘2’ group. However, after the economic, social and political changes within the Nordic countries such as the collapse of the Soviet Union and the entrance of Finland and Sweden into the European Union (EU), a growing question has arisen whether the party system is frozen or whether it has been replaced by new cleavages and parties.
This essay will explain how party changes can affect the party system and hence how one can misinterpret the changes within the five-party system, to a change to the five-party system. The essay will firstly describe and explain what the five party system is and what changes have occurred within it, mentioning the ‘Other’ parties. Secondly, the essay will focus on the changes to political parties based on social cleavages and how they can affect the political system.
The Scandinavian five-party system, as the name suggests, contains five main party groups. With the exception of Iceland which has a 4 party system (a 2 + 2) the following parties are within the remaining four countries: the Conservatives, the Liberal, the Agrarian,...
... middle of paper ...
...h was an APE (anti-political establishment); The Young Finn Party in 1995, which sought to attract ‘city liberals’; and The Coastal Party in Norway in 1997 which was a single-interest party in favour of commercial whaling, the party gained 1.7% of the national vote in 2001 but 10.9% in Nordland and 10.0% in Troms.
Different parties due to changes in social cleavages and social situations had emerged or changed such as the the Swedish People’s Party or as it is now called the ‘Finland’s Swedish People’s Party’ which emerged after the universal suffrage in 1906. As the name suggests it represents the Swedish-speaking language minority such as the farmers, fishermen and factory workers (Arter, 2014).
The ‘Others’ category has became more and more favoured and an average of 6.5% of the Swedish electoral voted for parties classed within this group since the 1940/50’s.
This assignment deals with the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Australian Liberal Party. It will go explain in depth their origins, motives objectives and achievements.
Curtis, J., Fisher S., Lessard-Philips L. 2007.Proportional Representation and disappearing voter. British Social Attitudes: Perspectives on a changing society, ed. A.Park 119-25. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
The spread of democracy has been one of the largest and most widely heralded trends in government worldwide – its prevalence and impact has been the subject of much political discussion and debate. In many cases, however, fewer observers focus on the electoral system used by the democratic governments themselves, which are in many cases equally important to the ultimate shape of the government formed. In general, the First Past the Post (FPTP) electoral system that is used in Canadian Federal Elections has excluded and prevented third parties from having a large impact on the national stage post-WWII, forcing a bipartisan system of government. Central to this paper is an analysis on how third parties, in this case minor broad-based parties
Grofman, B. & Lijphart, A. 2002. The evolution of electoral and party systems in the Nordic countries. USA: Agathon Press.
A two-party system is a political system in which only two parties have a realistic opportunity to compete effectively for control. As a result, all, or nearly all, elected officials end up being a member in one of the two major parties. In a two-party system, one of the parties usually holds a majority in the legislature hence, being referred to as the majority party while the other party is the minority party. The United States of America is considered to be a two-party system. A two-party system emerged early in the history of the new Republic. Beginning with the Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans in the late 1780s, two major parties have dominated national politics, although which particular two parties has changed with the times and issues. During the nineteenth century, the Democrats and Republicans emerged as the two dominant parties in American politics. As the American party system evolved, many third parties emerged, but few of them remained in existence for very long. Today the Democrats and Republican still remain as the dominant parties. These two parties hav...
When looking at and understanding the historical aspect of the party systems, it is important to note that there are some number of definitions of party systems. To some degree, a party system simply can be defined as the competition between parties in the political realm in efforts to gain the support for their give...
A party system is the concept that political parties in a democratic country have basic similarities: they control the government, have a stable base of mass popular support, and create internal mechanisms for controlling funding, information and nominations. From 1789 to the 1890’s, the United States had three party systems.
Party identification is the political party that an individual categorizes them self with. Political parties came about as a way to organize citizens with similar beliefs and attitudes. These parties then attempt to influence the government by electing members into office. Today there are two main parties people can identify: Republican and Democrat. There is also a third choice, being an Independent, but for the purpose of this paper this group will not be recognized as a political party. These reasons will be discussed later. There are many different theories as to why people do or do not identify with a political party, including social psychology, issue related, and psychological attachments. I believe the social psychology theory has the right idea. Sociology is about studying human society and how it develops and functions. So, it makes sense that social factors would have a big impact on whether we identify with a political party or not.
While features of the Senate, such as the Group Ticket Vote, can have unexpected results that misrepresents the Australian voters’ will, it is not necessarily more prominent than voter behaviour. The rise of post-materialism, lack of party identification and strategic voting all contribute swings away from major parties. The electoral system still has a very influential effect on representational outcomes (Stone 1998), however minor party success cannot solely understood as a fault to the system. This essay will look at the differences in representation for the two houses of parliament and how the electoral system and strategic vote results in the disparity. It intends to look at how preference deals and Group Ticket Votes can distort results and give power to all parties. It will also explore how post-materialism and social movements can influence voter
Political parties in the United States, just like any other country has been in existence for many years, probably since the late 1700s. In definition, a political party is a legally organized group of individuals or people who have similar opinions and control the governing of a country. Long before political parties in America came about, there had been indifference concerning the existence of political parties, but today, Political parties are a vital constituent of a democracy. They provide a means through which individuals in America can express themselves and their voices can be heard. It can also be seen as a link between the people and the government. Political parties thereby have important roles which they carry out such as nominating candidates, help in the formation of public opinions, organizing the government and much more.
There are three types of electoral systems that are generally used around the world. Majority electoral systems, plurality electoral systems, and proportional representation. The party list system, a sub category of proportional representation has long been assessed and analyzed by a number of groups to identify whether it has the potential to be successful. In particular, since its introduction in the 1850’s the single non-transferable vote or SNTV is one particular electoral system that has been evaluated. SNTV is a system that is utilized for use in multi-member elections and can be used for both provincial and legislative systems. Through a careful investigation it can be seen that SNTV is similar in many aspects to other electoral systems and in which ways politicians politick. Yet, SNTV also influences some different types of politicking by politicians as a result of the way in which votes are tallied.
The power structure of Norway is probably one of the few areas that are quite different from that of most other free countries. Norway is a constitutional monarchy. The king has limited authority, except as head of the military and as a symbol of continuity and stability. Executive power is vested in the prime minister, who presides over the dominant party in the country’s parliament (Storting). The 165 members of parliament are elected every four years. The Storting has an Upper Chamber (Lagting) and a Lower Chamber (Odelsting). The Labor, Center, and Conservative parties are the largest in parliament, but no party has a majority. Another similar note is that all citizens may vote at age 18. Norway also has 19 provinces (fylker). Norway enjoys a strong economy, and has one of the highest standards of living in the world.
The Denmark Government is a constitutional monarchy system. The government of Denmark is based on the parliamentary system and it is representative democratic. The head of government is controlled by the Prime Minister. Denmark is a multi-party system so that there is no single party since the beginning of the 20th century in Denmark. The parties members will be represent their parties in the parliament. Hence, the Danish parliament tends to be more powerful than legislatures in others countries. The constitution of the Denmark is not grant to the judiciary power of judicial review of legislation; however the courts have asserted this power with the consent of the other branches of government. Moreover, the government of Denmark has two arms, the government and the Folketing. The choice of the candidates depends on the majority votes of the person who has received from the respective constituency and also on his local connection. However, the change of political system has started when Fogh Rasmussen has won his first general election on 20 November 2001 and became the Prime Minister...
As stated earlier, both parties shift over time. This means for the parties to get re-elected they have to pick up on different combinations of current issues, thus follow public opinion. Since the two-party system follows the majority in public opinion, the multi party system inevitably sometimes leads to the minority rule over the majority. Even parties with extremely radical views have a chance to be elected to power. This could result in chaotic and disastrous changes. The approach of a two-party system doesn’t allow this possibility to happen, it moderates political ideologies and protects the “majority from the
The Nordic Model is the term for the Scandinavian states economic system. The government equally provides the same thing for each of its citizens. Many things are provided by the government, like universities, health care, maternity leave and social security. But there are other aspects of the Nordic Model too. Social Democrats support regulated private enterprise, high taxes in return for high public service, thorough working laws, like minimum wage and working conditions, and a strong policy of equality for all citizens. However, to make all these things possible, citizens must pay high taxes. In Norway, for example, the majority of ...