Municipal amalgamations of 1952-1974

How did they become politically possible?

Abstract

During 1952–1974 the Swedish municipal structure was radically reformed. In 22 years the number of municipalities was reduced from 2 498 to 278. What makes such large-scale reforms possible? We answer this question by analyzing the politics behind the amalgamation reforms. We investigate (a) the main arguments for the amalgamations, (b) the degree of consensus behind the decisions, (c) if any alternatives were presented in the debates leading up to the reforms, and finally (d) how it was politically possible to push through these reforms. Two different models of explanation are put to the test; evolutionary accounts, which see the amalgamations as rational adaptations to changing social and economic circumstances are contrasted with a social conflict perspective, which explains the amalgamations in terms of their distributional consequences. We argue that an analysis of Sweden’s municipal amalgamation reforms supports the social conflict perspective.