Suchergebnisse

This article summarizes some of the main findings from the 1976 Swedish Election Study. The defeat of the Social Democrat government in 1976 was caused by three issues: bureaucracy, socialization, and nuclear power. Although net changes were small, the actual number of voters switching parties was the largest recorded during the last twenty years. The traditional image of the stable Swedish voter is becoming a myth. Aggregate stability is combined with a large and increasing individual volatility.

ABSTRACTThe attitudinal antecedents of participation in political demonstrations are analyzed on the basis of a survey of 1.723 students in Göteborg, Sweden, in 1969. Highest participation rate is found in the strong left group, lowest in the strong right category (using a self‐placement indicator). It is found that sudden change in basic value preference produces increased propensity to engage in political demonstrations. Students most likely to take part in demonstrations are those combining strong leftist views with high system distrust. The association between distrust and participation, however, turns out to be rather complex because of a curvilinear relationship between distrust and left–right placement. Furthermore, the strength of the link between propensity to engage in demonstrations and actual participation is a function of left–right position as well as system distrust.

The topic of the article is a comparison of voter reactions in Sweden and Norway towards some current political issues. The analysis is based upon nationwide election surveys in 1976 (Sweden) and in 1977 (Norway). Despite the fact that the party systems are different in several ways, the patterns of political attitudes in the two electorates are surprisingly similar. The analysis suggests that political cleavages are basically the same in these two neighbouring countries. Likewise the location of corresponding parties in the two systems is approximately the same in relation to specific cleavages.