Partisystemets utveckling på Åland

Authors

• Peter Söderlund

Abstract

This article examines the development of the party system in the autonomous Åland Islands in Finland. It analyses patterns of party system stability by measuring net volatility of party vote shares between elections. The analysis is based on the results of legislative assembly elections between 1971 and 2007. It shows that the rise of new party formations is positively associated with party system volatility in the highly permissive electoral system. Strenghtening prerequisites for accountability also appears to have induced higher electoral volatility over time. Government parties have become subject to major decreases in vote shares after a change towards a more majoritarian form of government in 1988.