Decision-Making Involvement in Norway: The Nature and Scope of Citizen Access in a Social Democratic Polity

The nature and scope of political participation in Norway has been the subject of considerable analysis and debate. The present study reports new findings from a nationwide sample survey carried out in early 1981. The empirical focus is expanded to cover four major areas of decision-making involvement: political democracy, workplace democracy, special-interest democracy and protest. Emphasis is placed on the amount and concentration of involvement within and across these areas. The results are presented and analysed within an instrumentalist perspective which views involvement as a conscious effort to influence personal or group interests. The major conclusion is that there is much more decision-making involvement in Norway than has been previously presumed or reported.