The Oxford Handbook of Norwegian Politics

The Oxford Handbook of Norwegian Politics provides a comprehensive examination of Norway's political institutions, politics, public policy-making, and international relations.

As the introductory chapter highlights, Norway has traditionally been characterized as a stable, homogeneous, corporatist, and consensus-oriented democracy. At the same time, it is well established that many of the country's distinctive features have been challenged and have perhaps declined in recent decades. Norway has evolved in the face of rapid economic growth, significant government access to massive oil revenues, deindustrialization, public sector expansion, increasing cultural pluralism and economic inequality, as well as growing party system fragmentation and the decline of the once-dominant social democratic party. This Handbook gives readers an updated account of major political developments and what characterizes Norway's politics compared to other countries in Scandinavia and beyond.

The diverse set of authors, selected for their in-depth knowledge and extensive expertise, offer valuable insights into the different aspects of Norwegian politics. Each chapter offers foundational knowledge about the present Norwegian system while presenting state-of-the-art overviews of key issues and findings drawn from the most relevant research in the respective fields. The authors also provide original analyses of more specialized topics or trace historical developments and overarching trends. With over seventy contributors and written in an accessible manner, this Handbook is an indispensable resource for understanding Norwegian politics.

Kristoffer Kolltveit, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Oslo,Elin Haugsgjerd Allern, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Oslo,Målfrid Braut-Hegghammer, Professor of Political Science, University of Oslo and Professor of War Studies, King´s College London,Bjørn Erik Rasch, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Oslo

Kristoffer Kolltveit is Professor in Political Science at the University of Oslo. His research focuses on ministers and cabinet-decision-making, central administration, and political communication. His work has been published in many outlets including International Journal of Press/Politics, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Party Politics.

Elin Haugsgjerd Allern is Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo. Her research interests include political parties, interest groups, political representation, and public policy-making. She has published multiple books, including Left-of-Centre Parties and Trade Unions in the Twenty-First Century (OUP, 2017, edited with Tim Bale), and numerous articles in different outlets including Party Politics, Journal of European Public Policy, and European Journal of Political Research.


Målfrid Braut-Hegghammer is Professor of War Studies at King's College London and Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo. She is the founding director of the Oslo Nuclear Project. Her work has been published in numerous outlets including International Security, The Middle East Journal, The New York Times (online), and International Herald Tribune, and in her book Unclear Physics: Why Iraq and Libya Failed to Build Nuclear Weapons (Cornell University Press, 2016).


Bjørn Erik Rasch is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Political Science, University of Oslo. He has published fifteen books as (co)author or (co)editor and numerous journal articles. Rasch was a member of a Constitutional Commission appointed by the Norwegian Parliament in 2003 to modernize the Norwegian Court of Impeachment and a committee who designed a new electoral system for the Sami Parliament in Northern Norway (the Sami Act).

1. Introduction: Norway, A Stable Democracy in Flux, Elin Haugsgjerd Allern, Målfrid Braut-Hegghammer, Kristoffer Kolltveit, and Bjørn Erik RaschI. Constitutional Design and Political Institutions2. The Constitution, Eirik Holmøyvik3. Parliament, Bjørn Høyland4. The Norwegian Cabinet, Jostein Askim5. Executive-Legislative Relations: Negative Parliamentarism and its Consequences for Governing Norway, Jonas Stein and Bjørn Erik Rasch6. The Electoral System: Representing Voters and Territory, Bernt Aardal and Jørgen Bølstad7. The Norwegian Central Government: A Robust Yet Adaptive Apparatus, Kristoffer Kolltveit and Jarle Trondal8. The Courts, Øyvind Stiansen9. Municipalities and Regions: Further Reform Required, Signy Irene Vabo10. The State of Norwegian Democracy, Sirianne Dahlum and Carl Henrik KnutsenII. Electoral and Legislative Politics11. Political Participation and Voter Turnout Inequalities in Norway, Dag Arne Christensen and Kristin Strømsnes12. The Party Organizations, Maiken Røed and Torill Stavenes13. Polarization and Cleavage Conflict in a Multidimensional Party System, Peter Egge Langsæther14. Voting Behaviour in Norway: Social Structure, Ideology, and Issue Ownership, Johannes Bergh and Atle H. Haugsgjerd15. Populism in Norwegian Politics, Anne Lise Fimreite and Elisabeth Ivarsflaten16. Extremism and Counter-Extremism in Norway, Anders Ravik Jupskås and Jacob Aasland Ravndal17. Election Campaigns, Rune Karlsen18. Local Electoral Politics: How Local Are Norwegian Local Elections?, Jo Saglie and Signe Bock Segaard19. Legislative Party Groups in the Storting: Cohesion and Discipline, Oda Nedregård and Martin Søyland20. Parties and Governments: Two-bloc Politics and Minority Cabinets, Kaare W. Strøm21. Interest Groups in Norwegian Politics: Strategies, Access, and Influence, Elin Haugsgjerd Allern and Vibeke Wøien Hansen22. Media and Politics in Norway, Toril Aalberg23. Political Trust in Norway: A Large but Lopsided Research Field, Staffan Kumlin and Jonas Linde24. The Fairest of Them All? Political Representation and Equality in Norway, Mari S. Helliesen, Ruben Mathisen, and Yvette PetersIII. Policy Making and Public Policies25. Public Policymaking and Stakeholder Consultations in Norway, Adriana Bunea and Idunn Nørbech26. The Role of Experts in Policymaking, Johan Christensen and Stine Hesstvedt27. Changing Characteristics of Corporatism and Tripartite Cooperation, Hilmar Rommetvedt and Kristine Nergaard28. Economic Policies and the Oil Fund, Einar Lie29. The Norwegian Welfare State, Magnus B. Rasmussen30. Searching for the Right Balance between Equality and Differentiation - Education Policies in Norway, Jens Jungblut and Mari Elken31. Health Policy Reforms for Three Decades - Then Returning to Square One?, Terje P. Hagen and Eli Feiring32. Gender Equality Policies in Norway: From Innovator to Laggard?, Cathrine Holst and Mari Teigen33. Indigenous Policies: Sámi System-building through Internationalization and Legalization, Torvald Falch and Per Selle34. Immigration and Integration Policy, Vilde Hernes and Anne Balke Staver35. Energy Policy: Resource Abundance and External Challenges, Dag Harald Claes36. Norway's Fisheries and Aquaculture Policies: In Search of Sustainability, Alf Håkon Hoel and Jahn Petter Johnsen37. Paradoxes of Twin Crises: Nature Protection and Climate Governance in Norway, Elin Lerum Boasson and Lars H. GulbrandsenIV. International Relations38. Norwegian Foreign Policy: Shifts under the Surface, Målfrid Braut-Hegghammer39. Norwegian Defence Policy, Kjell Inge Bjerga40. Norwegian Intelligence, Kristin Ven Bruusgaard and Stig Stenslie41. Norway's Peace Diplomacy: Punching above its Weight Class?, Kristian Berg Harpviken and Torunn L. Tryggestad42. Development Aid, Sunniva Engh43. Westward Bound: Norway in NATO, Janne Haaland Matlary44. The Plea for a Guarantee: Norway and the United States (1945-2024), Johannes Gullestad Rø and Ingeborg Nortvedt Bjur45. From Involvement to Entanglement: Norwegian-Russian Relations (1992-2022), Geir Flikke46. Norway and the European Union, Guri Rosén and Ulf Sverdrup47. Norway and the United Nations, Balancing Idealism and Realpolitik, Mats Berdal48. The High North and the Arctic, Paal Sigurd Hilde and Sven G. Holtsmark