Coping With Corporatism in Decline and the Revival of Parliament

Abstract

Denmark and Norway have experienced significant political changes during the past three decades, changes that affect the constraints and opportunities organized interests are facing. Corporatist representation in the policymaking process has declined, and changes in executive-legislative relations have increased the power of parliaments. Organized interests are expected to adapt to these changing circumstances to maintain their political influence. This article shows how Danish and Norwegian interest groups have coped with the decline of corporatism and the revival of parliaments. Representation in corporatist policy-making committees and lobbying toward civil servants in government ministries have been supplemented and in some cases substituted by political lobbyism directed toward elected representatives in the parliament and the government. The analysis is based on panel data from several surveys carried out among nationwide interest groups in Denmark and Norway.

How corporatist institutions shape the access of citizen groups to policy-makers: evidence from Denmark and Switzerland

“…The famous Rokkan quote 'votes count, resources decide ' (1966: 105-6) hinted that the administrative venue was more important than the parliamentary venue for corporatist groups. This may have been true, but we observe a relative shift in the balance between the two venues (Rommetvedt et al 2012). The Swiss and Danish parliaments have increased their power vis-à-vis the government.…”

Alþingi og framkvæmdarvaldið

“…Fagráðuneytin unnu þannig í náinni samvinnu með fyrirtaekjum og öðrum aðilum á sínu starfssviði. Ný gögn sýna að einkum í Noregi og Danmörku hefur fjöldi fulltrúa atvinnulífsins í nefndum ríkisins minnkað mikið á allra síðustu áratugum og "lobbýismi" gagnvart embaettismönnum hefur líka dregist saman (Rommetvedt et al 2012). Hagsmunaaðilar beina því sjónum sínum að framkvaemdarvaldinu í minna maeli en áður.…”

Samfundslederskab i en fragmenteret tidsalder

“…Tendensen har vaeret den samme i de andre skandinaviske lande . I stedet for at få indflydelse via faste pladser i råd og naevn må interesseorganisationerne i stedet forsøge at få indflydelse via direkte lobbyisme (Rommetvedt et al, 2012) eller indirekte lobbyisme gennem medierne (Allern & Pollack, 2012).…”