This paper examines the Scandinavian states' staffing of middle and senior‐ranking positions within the United Nations (UN)‐system, in comparison to other members of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is true that the Scandinavian states are overrepresented per the size of their population in both staffing categories; however, when it comes to a comparison of financial contributions to the UN regular budget, the three states are underrepresented compared to the rest of the OECD in staffing funded by that mechanism. Yet, the strong reputation of the Scandinavian states and their practitioners has still enabled them to disproportionately staff senior UN positions. To explain this, this paper utilises Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of capital, field, and habitus to explain how the three states' reputation within the UN‐system gives them an advantage in staffing senior positions.
{"title":"The Scandinavian states' staffing of the United Nations‐system","authors":"Jonathan Pugh","doi":"10.1111/1467-9477.12291","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12291","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the Scandinavian states' staffing of middle and senior‐ranking positions within the United Nations (UN)‐system, in comparison to other members of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is true that the Scandinavian states are overrepresented per the size of their population in both staffing categories; however, when it comes to a comparison of financial contributions to the UN regular budget, the three states are underrepresented compared to the rest of the OECD in staffing funded by that mechanism. Yet, the strong reputation of the Scandinavian states and their practitioners has still enabled them to disproportionately staff senior UN positions. To explain this, this paper utilises Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of capital, field, and habitus to explain how the three states' reputation within the UN‐system gives them an advantage in staffing senior positions.","PeriodicalId":51572,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Political Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141921727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This research underscores the key role of ideology in shaping the Swedish public's stance towards Israel and Palestine. With the help of a survey conducted by the Surveyinstitute in 2020, this paper studies the Swedish population's attitudes toward the actions of Israel and Palestine in the Israel‐Palestine conflict. The findings reveal a distinct ideological divide along the left‐right scale in the attitudes of the Swedish population towards Israel and Palestine's actions. This ideological chasm extends to additional actors, such as Sweden, the United States, and the EU, in the Israel‐Palestine conflict. While religion does exert influence, particularly among practicing individuals, the study concludes that ideology is the most relevant factor in attitudes toward the actions of Israel and Palestina from a Swedish perspective.
{"title":"“Ideology and Religion” how left‐right ideology plays a key role in attitudes toward Israel and Palestine in Sweden","authors":"Maria Owiredu","doi":"10.1111/1467-9477.12289","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12289","url":null,"abstract":"This research underscores the key role of ideology in shaping the Swedish public's stance towards Israel and Palestine. With the help of a survey conducted by the Surveyinstitute in 2020, this paper studies the Swedish population's attitudes toward the actions of Israel and Palestine in the Israel‐Palestine conflict. The findings reveal a distinct ideological divide along the left‐right scale in the attitudes of the Swedish population towards Israel and Palestine's actions. This ideological chasm extends to additional actors, such as Sweden, the United States, and the EU, in the Israel‐Palestine conflict. While religion does exert influence, particularly among practicing individuals, the study concludes that ideology is the most relevant factor in attitudes toward the actions of Israel and Palestina from a Swedish perspective.","PeriodicalId":51572,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Political Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141649499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Finland's decision to apply for membership in NATO is a case of bottom‐up driven foreign policy. Public opinion had been rather stable for more than 25 years in the NATO issue with less than 30 per cent of the people supporting Finland's membership in NATO but almost overnight during the week when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, a majority of Finns were in favour of it. Only after that shift in public opinion did the decision‐makers support the idea of joining NATO. How was the bottom‐up driven change possible? First, the resistance to NATO membership in Finland was common but not deep. Second, in the run‐up to the war, Russia had demanded that NATO put a stop to its open door policy not only with regard to Ukraine but also for Finland. Third, Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine constituted a particular frame in Finland, because the 1939 Winter War analogy was a key part of the collective memory. Finally, due to a strong tradition of national consensus in foreign and security policy, the shift in the public opinion became overwhelming: when the tide had turned, only very few resisted. In sum, four factors enabled the public opinion change: a rational basis for opinion change, a sense of urgency, an emotional push and the consensus effect. Although public opinion is often seen as stabilising and retardant force particularly in foreign and security policy, it can also be a driver for change when suitable conditions such as those in Finland exist.
{"title":"Bottom‐up foreign policy? Finland, NATO and public opinion","authors":"Tuomas Forsberg","doi":"10.1111/1467-9477.12273","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12273","url":null,"abstract":"Finland's decision to apply for membership in NATO is a case of bottom‐up driven foreign policy. Public opinion had been rather stable for more than 25 years in the NATO issue with less than 30 per cent of the people supporting Finland's membership in NATO but almost overnight during the week when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, a majority of Finns were in favour of it. Only after that shift in public opinion did the decision‐makers support the idea of joining NATO. How was the bottom‐up driven change possible? First, the resistance to NATO membership in Finland was common but not deep. Second, in the run‐up to the war, Russia had demanded that NATO put a stop to its open door policy not only with regard to Ukraine but also for Finland. Third, Russia's unprovoked war on Ukraine constituted a particular frame in Finland, because the 1939 Winter War analogy was a key part of the collective memory. Finally, due to a strong tradition of national consensus in foreign and security policy, the shift in the public opinion became overwhelming: when the tide had turned, only very few resisted. In sum, four factors enabled the public opinion change: a rational basis for opinion change, a sense of urgency, an emotional push and the consensus effect. Although public opinion is often seen as stabilising and retardant force particularly in foreign and security policy, it can also be a driver for change when suitable conditions such as those in Finland exist.","PeriodicalId":51572,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Political Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141668533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article addresses a lack of alignment between the material interests and economic preferences of the working class. It argues that the link between class interest and support for specific economic policies that benefit the working class becomes stronger when it is made clear that the policy targets the rich. Working‐class support for the repealed and unpopular inheritance tax in Norway is chosen as a hard test of this argument. Employing two straightforward survey experiments, this article demonstrates that clarifying who will pay the tax raises support in general and is especially important for ensuring the support of the working class. Further analysis shows that class differences, when the tax is explicitly redistributive, can be accounted for by general redistributive orientation. Additionally, differences in education levels partly explain why clearer class differences in tax support are not observed. This study underscores the importance of considering both the demand and supply sides when examining the economic preferences of social classes and highlights that clearly formulating who pays the tax is crucial for garnering support from working‐class voters.
{"title":"Aligning working‐class interests and preferences: The case of inheritance tax","authors":"Marta R. Eidheim","doi":"10.1111/1467-9477.12288","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12288","url":null,"abstract":"This article addresses a lack of alignment between the material interests and economic preferences of the working class. It argues that the link between class interest and support for specific economic policies that benefit the working class becomes stronger when it is made clear that the policy targets the rich. Working‐class support for the repealed and unpopular inheritance tax in Norway is chosen as a hard test of this argument. Employing two straightforward survey experiments, this article demonstrates that clarifying who will pay the tax raises support in general and is especially important for ensuring the support of the working class. Further analysis shows that class differences, when the tax is explicitly redistributive, can be accounted for by general redistributive orientation. Additionally, differences in education levels partly explain why clearer class differences in tax support are not observed. This study underscores the importance of considering both the demand and supply sides when examining the economic preferences of social classes and highlights that clearly formulating who pays the tax is crucial for garnering support from working‐class voters.","PeriodicalId":51572,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Political Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141670793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article contributes to the Historical Institutionalism literature on stability and change by unpacking how an institution has persisted for more than 70 years despite substantial contextual changes. The overall stability of the institution comes both through changes in policy instruments and their settings, and through the incorporation of differing, but aligned rationales. Ideational multidimensionality yields stability by providing leeway to recondition the institution in response to changing circumstances. This allows for different interests in the coalition to stimulate overall institutional stability by supporting incremental changes in policy instruments whilst avoiding institutional exhaustion and third order changes. This shows that policies initiated under a certain set of circumstances may be better equipped to persist when circumstances change if they are able to incorporate differing, but aligned, rationales and to respond to upcoming issues through policy instrument changes. The theoretical arguments are exemplified through a case study analysis of Norwegian agricultural policy.
{"title":"Same but different: On continuity and change in agricultural policy reforms","authors":"A. M. Melås, Jostein Vik, A. A. Farsund","doi":"10.1111/1467-9477.12269","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12269","url":null,"abstract":"This article contributes to the Historical Institutionalism literature on stability and change by unpacking how an institution has persisted for more than 70 years despite substantial contextual changes. The overall stability of the institution comes both through changes in policy instruments and their settings, and through the incorporation of differing, but aligned rationales. Ideational multidimensionality yields stability by providing leeway to recondition the institution in response to changing circumstances. This allows for different interests in the coalition to stimulate overall institutional stability by supporting incremental changes in policy instruments whilst avoiding institutional exhaustion and third order changes. This shows that policies initiated under a certain set of circumstances may be better equipped to persist when circumstances change if they are able to incorporate differing, but aligned, rationales and to respond to upcoming issues through policy instrument changes. The theoretical arguments are exemplified through a case study analysis of Norwegian agricultural policy.","PeriodicalId":51572,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Political Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140077586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Does factual information matter for policy evaluations and attitudes? Previous research has provided different, and partly contradictive, replies to this question. To test the effect of concrete facts on attitudes, we provide findings from a survey web‐experiment concerning satisfaction with the universal sickness insurance. The treatments in the experiment are short facts from official reports on how the insurance actually work and is used. Our dependent variables are general satisfaction with how the insurance works, as well as trust for the responsible agency administering the insurance and more specified perceptions on capacity, precision, and fairness of the insurance. The results show that under certain circumstances, policy‐specific information does have an effect – even though the effects are not consistent. Effects of the information were mainly found on general evaluations of the sickness insurance rather than on specific attitudes. Furthermore, we conclude that, contrary to expectations, the effects were not conditional on left–right position, subjective knowledge, political interest, or proximity.
{"title":"Convince with facts: Information effects on attitudes to the sickness insurance in Sweden","authors":"Anna Bendz, Maria Oskarson","doi":"10.1111/1467-9477.12262","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12262","url":null,"abstract":"Does factual information matter for policy evaluations and attitudes? Previous research has provided different, and partly contradictive, replies to this question. To test the effect of concrete facts on attitudes, we provide findings from a survey web‐experiment concerning satisfaction with the universal sickness insurance. The treatments in the experiment are short facts from official reports on how the insurance actually work and is used. Our dependent variables are general satisfaction with how the insurance works, as well as trust for the responsible agency administering the insurance and more specified perceptions on capacity, precision, and fairness of the insurance. The results show that under certain circumstances, policy‐specific information does have an effect – even though the effects are not consistent. Effects of the information were mainly found on general evaluations of the sickness insurance rather than on specific attitudes. Furthermore, we conclude that, contrary to expectations, the effects were not conditional on left–right position, subjective knowledge, political interest, or proximity.","PeriodicalId":51572,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Political Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138996422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Sweden's COVID‐19 policy was characterized by reliance on voluntary compliance. Citizens were expected to act responsibly. Previous research has not focused on the role of citizenship norms (duty‐based, engaged, and critical) in the COVID‐19 crisis. This is an important omission, since citizenship norms are expected to raise social responsibility and trigger prosocial behavior. This article asks how important citizenship norms are for explaining voluntary COVID‐19 policy compliance. Additionally, it considers perceptions of how other people comply, individual background factors, and interpersonal and institutional trust. The study focuses on Swedish high school youth, a group reported to comply less with voluntary COVID‐19 measures. Using survey data ( N = 1823), we find higher reported voluntary compliance by high school youth who adhere more strongly to the duty‐based citizenship norm. Importantly, believing that other people follow the COVID‐19 recommendations is strongly associated with following them. Thus, next to citizenship norms, “descriptive norms” (i.e., what other people are doing) are central for individuals to decide how they will comply. We further find that differences in worry about the pandemic and socioeconomic background factors (migration background and economic situation of the household) explain variation in compliance. Institutional and interpersonal trust play a less important role. These findings challenge the strong focus on trust in previous research. Our findings have implications for research on policy compliance in the context of crisis, and for public policy.
{"title":"Complying with COVID‐19 policy: The role of citizenship norms for young people's compliance with Sweden's voluntary COVID‐19 recommendations","authors":"Michele Micheletti, Soetkin Verhaegen","doi":"10.1111/1467-9477.12261","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12261","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Sweden's COVID‐19 policy was characterized by reliance on voluntary compliance. Citizens were expected to act responsibly. Previous research has not focused on the role of citizenship norms (duty‐based, engaged, and critical) in the COVID‐19 crisis. This is an important omission, since citizenship norms are expected to raise social responsibility and trigger prosocial behavior. This article asks how important citizenship norms are for explaining voluntary COVID‐19 policy compliance. Additionally, it considers perceptions of how other people comply, individual background factors, and interpersonal and institutional trust. The study focuses on Swedish high school youth, a group reported to comply less with voluntary COVID‐19 measures. Using survey data ( N = 1823), we find higher reported voluntary compliance by high school youth who adhere more strongly to the duty‐based citizenship norm. Importantly, believing that other people follow the COVID‐19 recommendations is strongly associated with following them. Thus, next to citizenship norms, “descriptive norms” (i.e., what other people are doing) are central for individuals to decide how they will comply. We further find that differences in worry about the pandemic and socioeconomic background factors (migration background and economic situation of the household) explain variation in compliance. Institutional and interpersonal trust play a less important role. These findings challenge the strong focus on trust in previous research. Our findings have implications for research on policy compliance in the context of crisis, and for public policy.","PeriodicalId":51572,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Political Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136068363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Decorporatization and organized interests in public policymaking in Norway: A tide that lifts all ships or an ebb tide leaving only the few afloat?","authors":"Daniel Arnesen","doi":"10.1111/1467-9477.12259","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12259","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51572,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Political Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43217811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Sami land‐claims settlement? Assessing Norway's Finnmark Act in a comparative perspective","authors":"A. Spitzer, P. Selle","doi":"10.1111/1467-9477.12260","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12260","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51572,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Political Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49060528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Finland's NATO membership: Continuous shelter‐seeking strategy","authors":"Baldur Thorhallsson, Thomas Stude Vidal","doi":"10.1111/1467-9477.12257","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9477.12257","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51572,"journal":{"name":"Scandinavian Political Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46028388","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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