EXAM, FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES SPRING 2014
Political Science, STV1510 – Nordic Politics
Friday May 9, 4 hours
You are to answer both exercise 1 and exercise 2. Each exercise will be weighted equally (50% for each) in the final evaluation.
Exercise 1: Here you are to answer either essay A or essay B
A:
What is meant by minority, minimal winner and oversized governments?
Describe the main trends in governments in Denmark, Finland and Sweden after the Second World War, emphasising in greater detail the governments in these countries from around 2000 to today. Focus in particular on the parties that have been in the governments, whether the governments have been one party or coalition governments, and whether the governments have been minority, minimal winner and oversized governments?
What can explain the government structures in the three countries?
B:
Outline how social cleavages have historically formed the development of the party systems in the Nordic countries.
Then discuss to what extent and how new social cleavages and conflicts relating to new issues and value orientations have put the five party system model under stress in the Nordic countries from around 1970.
Notes: Empirical patterns from Norway should not be emphasised to a larger extent than empirical patterns from the other Nordic countries.
Exercise 2: Here you are to answer three of the following four questions (a-d). The answers will be weighted equally for the final evaluation, and together they will count for 50% of the final evaluation.
a) Outline what kind of analytical perspectives we can use to understand similarities and differences in the ways countries implement public sector reforms. Discuss briefly how these perspectives can explain differences between Westminster and Scandinavian systems.
b) What are the main differences between the “Scandinavian” and the “Finnish” models of local and regional government? In what ways have recent reforms in the regional governments changed each country’s degree of concurrence with the key features of these models?
c) It is sometimes claimed that the Nordic welfare states are particularly vulnerable to the challenge of immigration. Outline different arguments in the academic debate on this issue, and give examples of similarities and differences in the policy response to immigration among the Nordic countries.
d) The Nordic countries vary greatly in their defence and security policy – some are NATO members, others are non-aligned: Briefly describe these policies and discuss the reasons why similar states in a quite similar geo-political setting have made these choices. In addition, discuss whether the disappearance of the Soviet Union changed Finnish and Swedish policies.