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Artikel 6How does the increasingly pluricentric character of regional governance in Denmark, Sweden and Norway condition the political leadership of politicians elected at regional levels of government? In regional governance, politicians elected at different levels of governance compete for political leadership, and this competition is particularly intense in pluricentric regional governance arenas with a weak division of political power. In such cases, the political leadership capacity of elected politicians at regional levels of governance depends on their ability to attract regional followers and to mobilise the support and resources of strong, influential regional stakeholders. From an analysis of recent institutional reforms in the three Scandinavian countries and a literature review of the role played by politicians in regional governance in the wake of these reforms, the article concludes that Scandinavian regional governance is strongly pluricentric (with some variation), and that recent reforms have contributed to making it even more pluricentric in character.

Urban issues such as poverty or marginality and disadvantage, unrest, crime, housing, segregation and social cohesion are on the political and academic agenda in Europe and in the US (Andersen, 2002; Atkinson, 2019; Galster, 1990; Gerell & Kronkvist, 2017; Mayer, Thörn, & Thörn, 2016; Uslaner, 2012; Wacquant, 2008). As indicated, policymakers devise strategies to address such problems (Andersson, Wimark, & Malmberg, 2020; Damm, Nielsen, Mattana, & Rouland, 2020; Davis, 2019; George & Patrick, 2017; van Gent et al., 2018; van Gent & Musterd, 2013). This also holds true for Norway (e.g. Andersen & Brattbakk, 2020). In Norway, the Government or a specific ministry may appoint a committee to report on an issue of relevance. The results are published as an Official Norwegian Report – Norges offentlige utredninger (NOU) in Norwegian. While it can be argued that urban issues are not a political priority in Norway, the current conservative Government – led by prime minister Erna Solberg – did appoint a committee to examine living conditions in Norwegian cities. The Norwegian Commission for City and Living Conditions presented its NOU on 16 December 2020 (NOU 2020:16). The report is important as it summarizes the latest knowledge on the topic and provides recommendations for future Norwegian urban policies. Hence, it is worth a thorough and critical review.