Suchergebnisse

The main purpose of this article is to find out those factors which caused the 1948 election defeat of the Communists in Finland. The central explanatory factors will be found in political and other organizations. Socio‐economic factors did not have any significant impact. The author, however, emphasizes the fact that the rapid increase of industrial population in certain regions in the postwar years weakened social control and consequently made easier the operation of the "organization of party agents" which was created by the Social Democrats. This "organization" had a crucial impact on the election defeat of the Communists. The rumours of revolution also had their own significance, for the rumours could be utilized skillfully in the election campaign against Communists.

The article is a summary of a research programme utilising aggregate data at the communal level to explore regional variations in Social Democratic and Communist electoral strength. These variations have persisted since the party split of 1920. The most important factors explaining electoral strength seem to be geopolitical, geoeconomic, or organisational in nature. Political developments preceding the Civil War do not seem to be very significant.