Transforming democratic accountability in Norway: Tradition prevails

In recent years the academic literature has emphasized the idea of a shift in the character of local democracy. It is commonly argued that what is to be observed today is a form of local governance in which there is a new form of power sharing among a broad spectrum of actors. Rather than being exercised in what is seen as a traditional form of local government characterized by hierarchical democratic decision making and action on issues of collective importance, a form in which town halls and municipal councils occupy a predominant if not monopolistic role, it is argued that power and decision making is now more typically exercised by “multi-agency networks” involving collaboration among actors that cut across traditional jurisdictional and public-private boundaries. This situation is seen to be the result of a variety of developments including, among others, tendencies toward regionalization of public decision making, privatization of public service delivery and greater formal involvement of private and third sector actors in community affairs. To the extent such a shift has occurred, it raises issues regarding the democratic accountability of the various actors involved in collective decision making and implementation. The electoral arena is in the minds of many a critical mechanism for securing accountability of local decision makers. But under conditions of local governance many actors are not subject to this mechanism. How are these actors to be constrained by a yoke of democratic accountability? What alternative mechanisms are available, and which mechanisms have been used with what consequences? This paper will address these issues in the context of Norwegian local politics. The paper will begin by examining major developments in the organization and operation of local democracy in the last 20-25 years, seeking to highlight significant changes and the forces driving such changes. In doing so the paper will assess the extent to which there has been a genuine shift in the character of local democracy in Norway. Has there indeed been movement from local government to local governance? How and what indicators of any such movement can be identified? The paper will subsequently examine evidence regarding new forms of democratic accountability to be observed in Norway and discuss the consequences they may imply. The paper will conclude with an assessment of how developments in Norway may be viewed in a broader comparative context. Has democratic accountability been transformed, or does tradition prevail?