The Scandinavian Regional Model:

Accounting for the shift from convergence to divergence

Authors

  • Jacob Torfing Roskilde University and University of Nordland
  • Anders Lidström Department of Political Science, Umeå University
  • Asbjørn Røiseland University of Nordland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v19i4.14986

Keywords:

Regional reform, Regional government, Sweden, Denmark, Norway

Abstract

This article maps how the sub-national regional levels of governance in Denmark, Norway and Sweden have changed from a high degree of institutional convergence to a pattern of institutional divergence. It analyses the similarities and differences in the changes in regional governance and discusses how these changes can be understood. Our supposition is that the more or less rational explanations of change found in main strands of the new institutionalism fail to explain the recent reforms of regional governance. Consequently, we ourselves have to contend with explanations in which rational action plays a limited role and contingent articulations of political and institutional conditions, together with spillover effects from reforms of local governance structures, are central to understanding the reforms that have produced the increasingly divergent patterns of regional governance in Scandinavia.

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Author Biographies

Jacob Torfing, Roskilde University and University of Nordland

Jacob Torfing is professor in politics and institutions at Roskilde University and professor II at University of Nordland. He is director of Center for Democratic Network Governance at Roskilde University. His research interests include local governance, policy and governance reform, network governance and metagovernance and collaborative innovation.

Anders Lidström, Department of Political Science, Umeå University

Anders Lidström is professor and head of the Department of Political Science, Umeå University, Sweden. His research focus is on urban, local and regional politics and government, particularly in a comparative perspective. Lidström is the convenor for the ECPR standing group on local government and politics and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Local and Regional Democracy in Europe (2011).

 

Asbjørn Røiseland, University of Nordland

Asbjørn Røiseland is professor in political science at University of Nordland and professor II at Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research. His research interests include hybrid forms of governance like networks and partnerships, interactive governance and democracy and democratic legitimacy.

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Published

2015-12-15

How to Cite

Torfing, J., Lidström, A., & Røiseland, A. (2015). The Scandinavian Regional Model:: Accounting for the shift from convergence to divergence. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration, 19(4), 7–28. https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v19i4.14986

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