The Dilemmas of Social Democracies: The Case of Norway and Sweden

Abstract

During the last couple of decades the political landscape in Norway and Sweden has changed considerably and tensions between the social democratic parties and the trade unions have emerged In this article potential sources for these developments are discussed Particular attention is given to the role of the labor market. It is argued that increasing segmentation of the labor market has produced a more diverse organizational and institutional structure which in turn has fragmented the working class and introduced new lines of social cleavage into the political system.