In this essay the mass beliefs and attitudes of the Norwegian society will be portrayed and
compared to the “democratic character” of people defined by political scientists.
Beforehand, a short description of the degree of democracy measured by the Freedom
House serves as an objective insight into the conditions of the country.
Lasswell (1951) developed several indicators which signalize a “democratic character”, such
as an open ego, a multi-valued character, confidence in human potentialities and, above all,
freedom from anxiety. According to Almond and Verba (1963), psychological orientations
towards the political system have a crucial impact in terms of stability of the state and its
political objects. Postmaterialist and self-expression values represent additional criteria for a
democratically mature society. All those will be taken briefly into consideration in order to
examine the main question that is tackled here: How “democratically compatible” is the
population of Norway?
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
2. MONITORING NORWAY: THE FREEDOM HOUSE REPORT
3. POLITICAL INTEREST AND PARTICIPATION OF THE PEOPLE
4. POLITICAL ORGANS AND THEIR PERCEPTION
5. SUBJECTIVE FEELINGS AND POSTMATERIALIST VALUES
6. CONCLUSION
Objectives and Topics
The primary objective of this essay is to analyze the democratic compatibility of the Norwegian population by examining mass beliefs, political attitudes, and institutional participation. The work seeks to determine how well the psychological orientations of Norwegian citizens align with the requirements of a stable, mature democratic society.
- Analysis of democratic indicators based on political science theories
- Evaluation of institutional performance and the Freedom House report
- Examination of political interest and conventional vs. unconventional participation
- Assessment of public perception regarding political organs and authorities
- Exploration of subjective well-being and postmaterialist values in the context of democracy
Excerpt from the Book
POLITICAL INTEREST AND PARTICIPATION OF THE PEOPLE
That objective performance implies a pronounced support of the democracy by its sovereign i.e. the population. In “Making democracy work”, Putnam argues that good institutional performance is related to a “Civic Community” which actively takes part in political issues (Putnam, 1993). The data verify this idea in the case of Norway. People’s interest in politics represents a first fundamental element. Almost 70% of the Norwegians claim to be politically interested in a very high, respectively relatively high degree in a survey carried out in 1996 (World Values Surveys Online Database WVS 1996). That percentage, however, has declined during the last years. The European Social Survey of 2006 (ESS3 2006) shows that the part of the population being “very interested” or “quite” interested has gone below 50%. Yet, compared to the other listed democratic European countries this result is still positive, as Norwegians thereby support their democratic system.
People also make use of their democratic rights which is manifested by nearly two thirds of the Norwegian citizens that affirmed to have signed a petition at some point in their lives (WVS 1996). 37,6% did so within the last 12 months which is a high outcome in comparison to other countries (ESS3 2006).
Summary of Chapters
1. INTRODUCTION: The introduction outlines the research question regarding the democratic compatibility of Norway and establishes the theoretical framework using indicators for a democratic character.
2. MONITORING NORWAY: THE FREEDOM HOUSE REPORT: This chapter provides an objective assessment of Norway's democratic status, highlighting its performance in political rights, civil liberties, and equality.
3. POLITICAL INTEREST AND PARTICIPATION OF THE PEOPLE: This section investigates the levels of political interest and the patterns of participation among the Norwegian population, including both institutional and unconventional political actions.
4. POLITICAL ORGANS AND THEIR PERCEPTION: This chapter analyzes how the Norwegian public perceives political institutions, parties, and authorities, confirming a strong aversion to authoritarian structures.
5. SUBJECTIVE FEELINGS AND POSTMATERIALIST VALUES: The final section explores the societal attitudes toward well-being and postmaterialist goals as factors that underpin a stable democratic system.
6. CONCLUSION: The conclusion summarizes the findings and affirms that the Norwegian population exhibits a high degree of compatibility with democratic values.
Keywords
Norway, Democracy, Political Participation, Democratic Character, Freedom House, Civic Community, Political Interest, Postmaterialism, Subjective Well-being, Storting, Electoral Turnout, Authoritarianism, Political Parties, Institutional Performance, Values.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research?
The essay focuses on assessing the "democratic compatibility" of the Norwegian population by analyzing their beliefs, attitudes, and engagement with political institutions.
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
The central themes include political participation, institutional trust, the perception of political organs, subjective well-being, and the role of postmaterialist values in sustaining a democracy.
What is the primary research question?
The primary research question is: "How democratically compatible is the population of Norway?"
Which scientific methods are applied in this essay?
The author utilizes a descriptive analysis of secondary data, drawing on reports from Freedom House, the World Values Survey (WVS), and the European Social Survey (ESS) to examine democratic indicators.
What subjects are covered in the main body of the text?
The main body covers the objective assessment of Norway's democracy, citizens' political interest, unconventional political behavior, public attitudes toward political authority, and the correlation between happiness and democratic stability.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Norway, democracy, political participation, democratic character, political interest, postmaterialism, and institutional trust.
How does the author define the "democratic character" of the Norwegian people?
The author defines it through indicators like political interest, peaceful engagement in demonstrations, refusal of authoritarian structures, and a high level of subjective well-being.
What role does the "Storting" play in the analysis?
The Storting serves as the subject for the analysis of electoral turnout, demonstrating the willingness of the Norwegian population to participate in the democratic process over the 20th century.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Anonym (Autor:in), 2007, Assessing Mass Beliefs and Level of Democracy in Norway, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/175313