Since 1995, the Norwegian Local Election Studies have provided knowledge about local democracy in Norway. The studies have made it possible to track developments in local elections and to examine how local democracy works between elections. This project continues the survey series.
Representative post-election surveys will be conducted among voters after the local elections in 2027 and 2031. In addition, the project will use register data on voters and candidates, qualitative interviews, qualitative voter diaries (free text) and surveys of municipal councillors and employees. The aim is to generate new knowledge about Norwegian local democracy in a broader comparative perspective.
Local democracy is currently facing major changes. Digitalisation, demographic change, and tighter municipal finances affect how local politics works, the freedom municipalities have to develop and implement their own policies, and how citizens perceive democratic legitimacy over time. The project examines these questions through systematic comparisons: over time, across municipalities, between voters and local elected representatives, between local and national elections, and across countries. In this way, the project will produce knowledge that is relevant both to Norwegian municipalities and to international local democracy research.
The project will contribute to strengthening Nordic and European cooperation in research on local elections. It will do so by developing research networks, participating in international conferences, and publishing articles in international scientific journals.
The project’s main publications will be two open access books in Norwegian — one after the 2027 election and one after the 2031 election. The books will make the research findings accessible to a broad audience, including policymakers, students, journalists, and others interested in local democracy. The project will also prioritise scientific articles and popular science dissemination.
