Cleavage Formation in Norway: The Contextual Dimension

Abstract

To explore the mechanism underlying the formation and persistence of cleavage structures the author applies a contextual approach in the case of Norway where regional variation in political cleavages persists over time. This study focuses on the time period between 1890 and 1930, the formative years of the Norwegian party system. The premise of the argument is that a factor contributing to persisting patterns of electoral mobilization is the location of new voters in patterns of social interaction deriving from the class composition in different regions. Initial electoral mobilizations coupled with enduring social structures can be carried on for a long time. These social conditions may pose high costs of mobilization to new parties in a political system. The article shows the persistence of a distinct class composition across regions in Norway and demonstrates the contextual effect by examining the behaviour of new voters in the 1900 election. It evaluates the contextual argument against other party incentives for mobilization by means of a statistical model that incorporates contextual incentives in addition to incentives deriving from electoral rules and political competition.

Norwegian mayoral awareness of and attitudes towards climate change

“…Resembling the global cleavage, our analysis examines territorial cleavages in Norway, very likely linked to those identified by Rokkan and Valen [20,21], Kinsey [22], and Valen [62] and pertaining to environmental topics; with the centre to a larger degree supporting and having confidence in the climate change message, as well as being friendlier towards environmental regulations. These cleavages indicate struggle over determining and implementing core climate change policies without alienating local and regional constituencies [20][21][22].…”

“…These cleavages indicate struggle over determining and implementing core climate change policies without alienating local and regional constituencies [20][21][22].…”

“…Kinsey [22] traced the pattern of regional cleavages in party voting back to the period 1890-1930, concluding that 'The origin and persistence of distinct voting patterns may be partly the product of the interaction between the consequences of social contexts for political behaviour and the mobilisation calculus of political parties' (p. 279). The territorial cleavages have lingered on, but over time the topics change, now also appearing in relation to cases such as i) managing big carnivores such as wolves, bears, lynxes, and wolverines in relation to sheep farming [23,24]; ii) using nature for leisure including nature-based tourism or economic production such as through natural resources [25,26]; and iii) accusing the capital city's elite of arrogance as an argument against a proposed power line to Bergen that was running through a highly praised cultural landscape of West Coast fjords [27].…”

“…Following Kinsey's [22] focus on the role of context for political behaviour, we might ask, however, whether peripheral (sparsely populated) municipalities have the same experience with pressure on the environment as more central and urbanised municipalities. The room for exploiting nature is larger because there is more in comparison to the settlement size, and rural people are less inclined to protect smaller areas than are urban residents.…”

The Development of Rural Peripheral Areas in Lithuania: The Challenges of Socio-Spatial Transition

“…The notion of a periphery in the academic literature often varies depending on the locational, demographic, socioeconomic or other indicators used (Burbulytė-Tsiskarishvili, 2012; Copus, 2001; Gutiérrez and Urbano, 1996;Janc, 2006;Jerabek, 2006;Keeble, 1989;Kinsey, 2006;Marada et 501/527 al., 2006;Nagy, 2006;Rokkan and Urwin, 1982;Spiekermanm and Wegener, 1996;Vaishar, 2006). The concept of a periphery based on physical distance that prevailed in Europe for a long time is losing its importance; now when determining peripheries, the accessibility of human, social and economic potential is being emphasised as well, indicated with the term 'aspatial peripherality' (Copus, 2001).…”