Kystopprøret 2017- interessekamp og samfunnskritikk (original) (raw)

The outcome of Norway’s largely voluntary 2014–2020 structural local government reform relied heavily on positive citizen’ attitudes towards merging with neighboring municipalities. In the present chapter, we investigate how citizens assessed the potential outcomes of prospective mergers, in terms of service delivery, local democracy and local identity. Contrary to assumptions about “rational” voters, the largest group of respondents reported a set attitude towards merger although they did not foresee any significant consequences. Because a stated aim of the reform was to counter societal and demographic developments that could otherwise jeopardize service delivery and local democracy, the “no consequences” assessment can be interpreted as trust and support in the government’s arguments in support of the reform. A key point in the analysis is that citizens’ assessments of the consequences of a merger were related to whether their own municipality was set to become a center or a peri...