Diversity and Inequality in Organizational Participation in National Policy-making in Norway

This paper focuses on the changing role and participation of voluntary organisations in national policy-making in Norway. At the turn of the millennium, studies in Norway, Denmark and Sweden brought attention to institutional changes in civil society perceived to threaten the role of voluntary organisations in national politics (see Amnå 2006). Changes in organizational forms had given, it was argued, a shift from general-interest membership associations to professionalized groups concerned with special-interest activities. While inconclusive whether this has diminished the organisations’ democratic func-tion, recent studies suggest that trends towards a more inclusive policy process has led to more diverse representation. This assessment relates to the decline of neo-corporatism and increased importance of lobbying (Rommetvedt et. al. 2012; Binderkrantz, Fisker & Pedersen, 2016). Departing from this background, this paper examines changes in the contact between voluntary or-ganisations and public authorities in Norway from 1964 to 2013 in context of ideological and structural change in civil society. A point of interest is whether diversity also means inequality: although the policy process may have become more inclusive, capacities to mobilize relevant resources may still be important in determining access (Binderkrantz, Christiansen, & Pedersen, 2014). While policy involvement has not necessarily declined, it is possible that biases have increased as developments in civil society affect organizational capabilities. The analysis is based on surveys conducted among national voluntary organisations in in 1964, 1976, 1983, 1992, and 2013. Contact with public authorities is a self-reported measure repeated across all years, while the last three surveys also contain information on contacts with governmental bodies (parliamentary committees, MPs and party groups, the Cabinet, ministries, and directorates and agencies). Items on organizational characteristics, such as orientation, structure, inter-organizational ties, members and staff, and revenues, are also repeated. Preliminary results show a more diverse composition of organisations represented in policy-making across all arenas from 1964 to 2013. There are, however, indications of persistent, if not increasing bias related to processes of specialization and professionalization in civil society. This suggests that, while the decline of neo-corporatism may have led to a more inclusive policy process, organizations’ differing capacities to mobilize resources do engender inequalities in interest representation at the national level. References Amnå, E. (2006) Still a trustworthy ally? Civil society and the transformation of Scandinavian democracy. Journal of Civil Society, 2(1):1-20 Binderkrantz, A.S., Fisker, M.H., & Pedersen, H.H. (2016). The rise of citizen groups? The mobilization and representation of Danish interest groups, 1975-2010. Scandinavian Political Studies, 39(4):291-331. Binderkrantz, A.S., Christiansen, P.M., & Pedersen H.H. (2014). Interest group access to the bureaucracy, parliament and the media. Governance 28(1):95-112 Rommetvedt, H., Thesen, G., Christiansen, P.M., Nørgaard, A.S. (2012). Coping with corporatism in decline and the revival of parliament: interest group lobbyism in Denmark and Norway, 1980-2005. Comparative Political Studies 46(4):475-485