Local Political Decision-Making: A Case of Rationality or Appropriateness?

Abstract

The party and trustee principles are two representational styles used to describe how politicians make decisions. Swedish politicians have historically relied more on the party principle than the trustee principle. This article studies the decision-making practices of local Swedish politicians by exploring to what extent they rely on these principles when making decisions on two issues that diverge in political dignity: tax level and organisational change in the municipal administration. The study draws on new institutional theory, in which theories from rational choice and sociological institutionalism were used for modelling and performing a large study. The results indicate that, although Swedish politicians still rely on the party principle when making decisions, there is a significant difference as to what extent they do so in regard to the two policy issues. The trustee principle is more frequently used when deciding on organisational change than on tax levels. This result is valid for all Swedish parties, except for a relatively new political party at the extreme right of the ideological spectrum. Future research of the two decision-making principles in relation to other policy issues, as well as research that delves deeper into the deviant results of the different political parties, is encouraged.

The effect of personal values and the roles on representational principles in natural resource management decision-making

“…Again, in relation to the strong party principle in general in Sweden, it is remarkable that the interest organization representatives here act as the typical politician and the politicians do not (cf. Esaiasson and Holmberg, 1996;Skoog, 2011;Nilsson, 2015).…”

“…To measure the dependent variable, we draw on Nilsson (2015). The members of the WCCs are appointed to represent their respective political parties or interest organizations (see Government Bill, 2012/13:191).…”

“…Further, since this is a Swedish case, other cases in other countries should be explored to see how personal values and role affect the choice of decision-making principle. As stated by for example Esaiasson and Holmberg (1996) and Nilsson (2015), Swedes seemingly have a strong tendency toward the party principle and it would be interesting to see how value dimensions matter in contexts not as associated with this representational style.…”

“…In more traditional political arenas, such as parliaments and local councils, two representational principles guide how the decision makers relate to their roles as representatives and are important guidelines for their decisions (Esaiasson and Holmberg, 1996;Skoog, 2011;Nilsson, 2015). The first principle, the trustee principle, emphasizes decision-making in line with the representative's personal preferences, since the representative has been given a mandate to make decisions in the role of an informed, competent actor (see Eulau et al, 1959;Prewitt et al, 1966).…”

Political Leaders’ Experiences of Local Council, Board and Committee Work and Its Challenges in Finland

“…The party principle refers to a representational style in which the political leaders' loyalty is primarily to the party he or she represents. The trustee principle means that the political leader is a trusted elected individual capable of making the right decisions according to his or her own personal beliefs and preferences (Nilsson 2015;Bäck 2000). The party-political aspects have not traditionally been very strong in Finnish local government decision-making.…”