Parties, Governments and Voters in Finland: Politics Under Fundamental Societal Transformation

Finland's modern, technologically advanced welfare state is, in fact, a fairly recent creation, because the social changes that led to it occurred in Finland much later than elsewhere in the West. Once underway, however, such changes took place with unprecedented speed.

This book is the story of what happens to parties, governments and voters when the fundamental features that conditioned party formation and voter alignments undergo rapid change.

It is this that makes the Finnish case interesting and, as far as possible, this book examines Finland in a comparative perspective.

Karvonen's study is based on a wealth of new primary evidence. It demonstrates that Finland is indeed a special case in certain respects, especially when it comes to the attenuation of ideological rivalry and the recurrent waves of populist protest.

"This is an outstanding analysis of the political and social history of Finland since it gained independence from Russia in 1917. Supported by ample empirical data, Lauri Karvonen explains the 'late-but-rapid-syndrome' and why Finland, as a former part of Sweden and of Russia, has been a special case in a comparative Nordic and European perspective."

Stein Kuhnle, University of Bergen

"There remains a great deal of interest in the Nordic or Scandinavian political 'model' these days, but this interest usually focuses on Sweden or, possibly, Norway and Denmark. The politics and policies of Finland, which in fact present a fascinating case for study, are too often left out. This is due in good part to the absence of an up-to-date, comprehensive analysis of Finland. Fortunately, with the arrival of Professor Karvonen's latest book, this is no longer the case. This excellent volume will be of great interest and use to both specialists and comparativists and, indeed, to interested citizens."

Henry Milner, University of Montreal