‘Political Cleavages and Political Realignment in Norway: The New Politics
Thesis Reexamined’, Scandinavian Political Studies 9, 1986: 235-263.
Oddbjørn Knutsen
Abstract
The question of political realignment and dealignment in advanced industrial democracies
has been the subject of considerable comparative analysis. In this study the literature
regarding the 'new politics' is taken as the point of departure to examine the relative
importance of different political cleavages. The traditional socio-structural cleavages in the
Rokkan/Lipset model for political polarisation in industrial society are contrasted with an
extended value-based cleavage model which includes five different sets of value
orientations. Using data from a nation-wide Norwegian survey conducted in 1981, the
findings indicate that although there is a clear tendency towards a generation-based structural
dealignment process in accordance with 'new politics' literature, the thesis that the
materialist/post-materialist value orientations have taken over as the dominant polarisation
pattern in Norway is not generally confirmed. The old left-right value-based conflicts which is called left-right materialist value orientations - appears to be of greater importance,
even in the post-war generations.