Political Parties in Multi-Level Polities The Nordic Countries Compared

Political parties are essential for the functioning of parliamentary democracy but how have parties adapted to the challenges created by the growth of a new layer of political decision-making at the supranational level, i.e. the EU? This comparative survey focuses on parties in four Nordic countries, including Norway, which remains outside the EU.

List of Tables List of Figures Preface Notes on the Authors Parties and the Challenge of Multi-Level Politics Principals, Agents, Parties and the EU Denmark: Party Agents on Tight Leashes Finland: From Permissive Consensus to Angry Birds? Norway: Strong Yet Marginalised Parties Sweden: Power to the Parliamentarians? Conclusions: Nordic Political Parties, European Union and the Challenge References

NICHOLAS AYLOTT is Senior Lecturer in political science at Södertörn University, Sweden. His research interest is in comparative European politics and, especially, political parties. Among his publications in this field is a co-edited book, The Europeanization of National Political Parties: Power and Organizational Adaptation (2007).
MAGNUS BLOMGREN is Lecturer in Political Science at Umeå University, Sweden. His research interests relate to various aspects of democracy – European integration, parliamentarism and political parties. He has recently co-edited a book on Parliamentary Roles in Modern Legislatures (2012).
Torbjörn Bergman is Professor of Political Science at Umeå University, Sweden. Recent publications include co-edited books on Cabinets and Coalition Bargaining: The Democratic Life Cycle in Western Europe (2008) and The Madisonian Turn: Political Parties and Parliamentary Democracy in Nordic Europe (2011).