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In the middle of the first decade of the twenty-first century Iceland was ranked as the least corrupt country in the world by Transparency International and enjoyed top positions in most comparative indices of governance and development. In 2008 the banking system collapsed and the country found itself in a serious financial crisis, a crisis which some observers believe was caused by clientelism and other forms of behaviour related to corruption. This article sets out to analyse how the crisis affected general political support and, in particular, the importance of perceptions of corruption in that process. Using survey data we show that political support plummeted after the crisis and that public evaluations of the extent of corruption became the most important determinant of support. The results have implications for how we ought to approach the issue of corruption, even in so-called 'least corrupt' settings. The findings also call into question the validity and reliability of frequently used measures of corruption and governance.

Despite the influence of stigmatization on vote choices, little attention has been given to the impact of social stigma on voters' selection of voting procedures. To bridge this gap, our study focuses on Sweden, where the open-display ballot system at polling stations potentially compromises vote secrecy. Using survey data from the Swedish National Election Studies in 2014 and 2018, we examine the relationship between citizens' voting procedure choices and their support for a highly stigmatized radical right party, the Sweden Democrats. Our findings reveal that voters of the Sweden Democrats are more inclined to vote in advance, particularly in districts with low general party support, indicating a high level of stigma. We argue that advance voting can be seen as a strategy to safeguard vote secrecy when voting for stigmatized parties within an institutional context featuring public displays of ballots. In addition, our research sheds light on the importance of electoral integrity in maintaining the confidentiality of voters' choices.

AbstractWhen Sweden transformed its geography of local government in 1952 and 1962–1974, the number of municipalities was reduced from 2,498 to 278. The reforms were infused by the "central place theory," which aimed to identify a larger town as the "local capital" (centralort) for each municipality. The centralort became the municipalities' political and administrative center, responsible for providing public services to surrounding settlements. Taking our point of departure in this historical legacy, as well as the literature on "geographies of discontent," we ask whether there are geographical tensions within today's Swedish municipalities. Are there differences in satisfaction, trust, and views on the future of one's place of residence when comparing the centralort with its surrounding settlements? Using two datasets—Statistics Sweden's citizen survey carried out in 241 municipalities and Trustbarometer in 49 municipalities—we find that citizens in the centralort are more satisfied with democracy than those in peripheries, where individuals residing in the municipalities' most rural parts are the most dissatisfied. Moreover, different issues are perceived as more pressing and salient in the centralort compared to surrounding settlements.

According to virtually all international corruption rankings, Sweden is one of the top performing countries with very few exposed incidents of corruption. But does this automatically imply that it can be declared a perfectly 'healthy patient'? By extensively reviewing existing research and adding empirical sets of data, the authors of 'A Clean House?' shed light on shady corners of the Swedish case. What do we know about corruption in Sweden, and what can be said of such affairs over time? Four scholars of political science and economics describe how countries typically viewed as low corruption states can have particular problems that should not be underestimated nor neglected. This is the first comprehensive study in English of corruption in a low-corruption, mature welfare state. By revealing causes, scope and consequences of the corruption in low-corruption countries, the authors point out shortcomings in the international evaluations of corruption, and suggest constructive reforms that might curb the types of corruption occurring in 'healthy' societies

According to virtually all international corruption rankings, Sweden is one of the top performing countries with very few exposed incidents of corruption. But does this automatically imply that it can be declared a perfectly 'healthy patient'? By extensively reviewing existing research and adding empirical sets of data, the authors of 'A Clean House?' shed light on shady corners of the Swedish case. What do we know about corruption in Sweden, and what can be said of such affairs over time? Four scholars of political science and economics describe how countries typically viewed as low corruption states can have particular problems that should not be underestimated nor neglected. This is the first comprehensive study in English of corruption in a low-corruption, mature welfare state. By revealing causes, scope and consequences of the corruption in low-corruption countries, the authors point out shortcomings in the international evaluations of corruption, and suggest constructive reforms that might curb the types of corruption occurring in 'healthy' societies.

Previous studies have stressed the role of a child's family environment for future political participation. This field of research has, however, overlooked that children within the same family have different experiences depending on their birth order. First-borns spend their first years of life without having to compete over their parents' attention and resources, while their younger siblings are born into potential rivalry. We examine differences in turnout depending on birth order, using unique population-wide individual level register data from Sweden and Norway that enables precise within-family estimates. We consistently find that higher birth order entails lower turnout, and that the turnout differential with respect to birth order is stronger when turnout is lower. The link between birth order and turnout holds when we use data from four other, non-Nordic countries. This birth order effect appears to be partly mediated by socio-economic position and attitudinal predispositions.