Introduction

Abstract

The aim of this book is to provide a broad overview of political participation in Scandinavia but with the purpose of describing how democracy works from a citizenship point of view, rather than explaining variations in individual political behavior as such. In the first part of the book, we look at the major channels and patterns of political participation, and the changes that have taken place in them. More specifically, we want to examine the legacy of popular mobilization, in particular class mobilization, along with new forms of political participation associated with the Scandinavian welfare state. In the second part of the book, we address some of the core contemporary challenges to the ideals of full citizenship at the national level: marginalization in the labor market; European integration; and multi-ethnicity.