The Political Consequences of the Crisis

In: Statsvetenskaplig tidskrift, Band 112, Heft 1, S. 79-82

Abstract

Economic crises tend to have important political consequences. The Great Depression in the 1930s led to political realignments in many democracies (such as Sweden and the United States), and even to the breakdown of democracy in some European countries (such as Austria and Germany). More recently, the deep economic downturns in the aftermaths of the first and second oil shocks in 1973 and 1979 marked the beginning of a period of "permanent austerity" in economic and social affairs (Pierson, 2001). The economic crises of the 1930s and the 1970s have been studied by generations of social scientists, and the literature on the political consequences of these two crises has generated important theoretical developments in political science. These events were not only exceptionally important in their own right; studying politics in periods when countries confront international economic crises also has methodological advantages, for when countries are exposed to common shocks, it becomes possible to examine the impact of institutions, party politics, and other factors that political scientists are concerned with (Gourevitch, 1986, 221). The current economic crisis, which began in 2007-2008, provides political scientists with a rare opportunity to study the political consequences of a deep economic crisis in real time. My research project, which will be carried out in the period 2010-2013, covers four of the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden), paying particular attention to Sweden, since the extensive literature on Swedish policy responses to the 1930s and 1970s crises allows for useful historical comparisons (single-country case studies include Lewin, 1967; Jonung, 1999; and Lindvall, 2004; influential comparative studies where Sweden is one of the cases include Weir and Skocpol, 1985; Gourevitch, 1986; Mjoset, 1987; Scharpf, 1991; Berman, 1998; Iversen, 1999; and Blyth, 2002, to name but a few). The first research question is why policy responses to economic crises vary among countries and over time. The second research question concerns the effects of economic crises on electoral politics and I mass political behavior. Adapted from the source document.