1st Edition

Electoral Politics in Crisis After the Great Recession Change, Fluctuations and Stability in Iceland

198 Pages 33 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

198 Pages 33 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book examines to what extent politics in Iceland have been transformed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The book focuses on whether the short-term sudden shock caused by the Great Recession has permanently transformed politics, political behaviour and the Icelandic party system or whether its effect was primarily transitory. These questions remain highly relevant to the wider... Read more

1. The consequences of the Great Recession on party politics and voters in Iceland: Theoretical framework

2: A precursor to a crisis: Politics in the era of the Icelandic economic miracle

3. The political consequences of the economic collapse

4. The issue preferences of the mass public and their social structural antecedents

5. Satisfaction with democracy, political trust and confidence in politics

6. Political participation and engagement

7. Politics in turmoil: A crumbling party system?

8. Politics in turmoil: The party system and new parties in post-crisis Iceland

9. Party–voter alignments before and after the Great Recession

10. The transformative impact of the Great Recession on the political system

Biography

Eva H. Önnudóttir is Professor of Political Science at the University of Iceland, Iceland.

Agnar Freyr Helgason is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Iceland, Iceland.

Ólafur Th. Hardarson is Professor of Political Science at the University of Iceland, Iceland, where he served as Dean of the Social Sciences for 12 years.

Hulda Thórisdóttir is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Iceland, Iceland.

All authors are on the Steering committee of the Icelandic National Election Study.

"Descriptively informative and insightful, analytically ambitious and stimulating, this book is a must read for any student of comparative electoral behaviour."
Hermann Schmitt, University of Manchester, UK

"The book is essential reading for anyone interested in Icelandic politics. It analyses the impact of the great recession against the backdrop of long-term changes among the electorate with a view to discerning short-term and long-term factors. It is easy to read yet analytically and methodologically advanced."
Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson, University of Iceland, Iceland