Mittuniversitetet

The Finnish electoral system combines open-list proportional representation (OLPR) and mandatory preferential voting. OLPR provides the Finnish electoral system with a high degree of intra- and interparty competition. The inherent duality of the system has a multitude of effects on how elections are played out at different levels. The chapter provides a thorough presentation of the basic features of the electoral system and discusses its consequences, with a specific focus on how the two levels of competition influence the internal logic of Finnish politics in terms of nomination of candidates, how campaigns are fought, elections won, and the behavior and attitudes of voters, politicians, and parties. 

Using the Finnish National Election Study 2011 and the Finnish Candidate Study 2011, we explore congruence in the representational preferences of candidates and voters, the extent to which contextual- and individual-level characteristics are related to preferences and whether the effects of these factors are similar across both groups. The analysis concentrates on the focus of representation, further classified as (i) national representation of all citizens, (ii) geographical representation of one's own constituency, (iii) party representation and (iv) group-based interest representation. The results show that, while candidate and voter representational preferences largely overlap, the impacts of contextual factors, socioeconomic characteristics and ideological orientation that shape preferences are different for candidates and voters to some extent.

The interest in procedures for political decision-making has grown tremendously during recent decades. Given the intense scholarly debate and the implementation of greater opportunities for citizen participation in many democracies, there has been surprisingly little interest in citizens’ conceptions of democracy understood as their preferences concerning the processes by which the political system works. Some recent attempts do, however, suggest that it is important to expand the study of public opinion from policy output to decision-making processes, and that there are coherent patterns in citizens’ expectations of the way in which political decisions come about. What is not clear, though, is whether citizens’ different conceptions of democracy have repercussions for how they engage in politics. Using the Finnish National Election Study of 2011 (Borg and Grönlund 2011), this article explores the relationship between citizens’ conceptions of democracy and patterns of political participation. Results demonstrate a distinct association between citizens’ ideals and the actions they take.

This review article sets out to give an overarching presentation of Nordic research on political behaviour, which has constituted a vital subfield within Nordic political science since the 1950s. The aim of the article is to give the reader a sense of what characterises the development within the field and to point towards interesting research worth further exploring. The review covers some notes on the general progress within the field, a bibliographic analysis of publication patters complemented by a presentation of the dominating themes of research, and a discussion of methodological advancements. Research within the field rests on the strong legacy of the Norwegian scholar Stein Rokkan and the early influence of the behaviouralism and American research. The biographical analysis does, however, clearly demonstrate the leading position of Danish scholars in terms of both qualitative and quantitative indicators. From a methodological perspective, researchers within the region can be described as early adapters. The electoral programmes established in the middle of the 1950s in Sweden and Norway are among the oldest in the world, following on from the pioneering efforts of the United States which stretch back to 1948. Furthermore, recent years have brought about a significant increase in experimental research. Thematically, the research agenda has been dominated by, but not restricted to, electoral research. Sophisticated knowledge of how voters think and act at elections, but also of the changing role and behaviour of citizens within the Nordic sphere, has been developed over time.