The Scandinavian Organizational Landscape: Extensive and Different

Abstract

This chapter describes the historical and institutional background of the Scandinavian organizational society in detail. The popular mass movements are analysed as core institutions in the building of the modern Scandinavian mass democracies. Particular attention is devoted to the organizational model that characterized the popular mass movements and their organizations. In this model, local members played a decisive role. Another characteristic feature is the vertical integration between local branch organizations and regional and national organizations that provided a communication channel from the local level to the national level and vice versa. The chapter also provides an overview of the density, structure and composition of the Scandinavian voluntary sectors and demonstrates the lasting dominance of the sport, culture and leisure fields, though the welfare field is becoming more important in all countries. Finally, the decreasing significance of membership and member-based associations, in particular in Norway and Denmark, is analysed. This development may be consequential for the historically strong political and democratic role of voluntary associations and for their position more in general in society.