Stat, kris och demokrati : Lapporörelsens inflytande i Finland 1929-1932
The State, Crisis and Democracy : The influence of the Lapua Movement in Finland 1929-1932
Author
Summary, in English
This dissertation discusses how actors within the state act during a crisis of democracy. This issue is examined from two angles: 1 . How can actors within the state act during democratic crises? 2. How have actors within the state acted during democratic crises? The structure of this book is guided by both of these issues. In the first part of the book, an analytical model is developed. With the aid of axioms about the relations between structures and actors, which opens up for a discussion of New Institutionalism, a meta-theoretical framework is constructed. Within this framework, focus is then set on the autonomy of state actors, and discussed in relation to theories of the state. With the help of theories of democracy and legitimacy, the discussion of autonomy is developed. The primary ambition in this work is, via the construction of a synthesized analytical perspective, to be able to focus on fundamental aspects in discussions of state actions during crises of democracy. The point of departure is the idea that the state is charged with the responsibility of protecting and defending democratic principles, but it should not be taken for granted that the state can actually do so, or has the ambition to further democracy.
The analytical model is then applied to the confrontation of the question of possible action with actual action. The second question of how state actors have acted aims at illustrating how the model can be applied. The Finnish democratic crisis during the inter-war period provides the empirical background for this illustration. The "Lapua-movement" was an extreme right-wing organization in Finland, founded as a reaction to communist activities in the late twenties and ending in an minor uprising at the village of Mantsala in 1932. Based on conservative standpoints emerging from the Finish civil war in 1918, the Lapua movement felt a strong fear for communist and semi-communist activities in society and tried to force the government to take action against Labor politicians and parties. Through close personal connections with bourgeois parties and leaders of the state and a rather hostile terror, the movement had the Parliament to forbid communist activities and ban communist from the Parliament. The Lapua-movement questioned parliamentarianism as an idea and were in strong favor of the Finish language but were not questioning the state legitimacy itself. The theoretical framework facilitate to emphasize the relationship between leaders in the movement and elites in the state. The model brings out institutional contradictions and shows how some state-actors autonomy was strengthened with the help of the movement.
The analytical model is then applied to the confrontation of the question of possible action with actual action. The second question of how state actors have acted aims at illustrating how the model can be applied. The Finnish democratic crisis during the inter-war period provides the empirical background for this illustration. The "Lapua-movement" was an extreme right-wing organization in Finland, founded as a reaction to communist activities in the late twenties and ending in an minor uprising at the village of Mantsala in 1932. Based on conservative standpoints emerging from the Finish civil war in 1918, the Lapua movement felt a strong fear for communist and semi-communist activities in society and tried to force the government to take action against Labor politicians and parties. Through close personal connections with bourgeois parties and leaders of the state and a rather hostile terror, the movement had the Parliament to forbid communist activities and ban communist from the Parliament. The Lapua-movement questioned parliamentarianism as an idea and were in strong favor of the Finish language but were not questioning the state legitimacy itself. The theoretical framework facilitate to emphasize the relationship between leaders in the movement and elites in the state. The model brings out institutional contradictions and shows how some state-actors autonomy was strengthened with the help of the movement.
Department/s
Publishing year
1996
Language
Swedish
Publication/Series
Lund Political Studies
Issue
90
Document type
Dissertation
Publisher
Arkiv
Topic
- Political Science
Keywords
- State
- New Institutionalism
- Autonomy
- Democratic institutions
- Crises of democracy
- Legitimacy
- Lapua Movement.
- Political and administrative sciences
- Statsvetenskap
- förvaltningskunskap
Status
Published
Supervisor
- [unknown] [unknown]
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISBN: 91-7924-089-5
- 91-7924-089-5
Defence date
5 June 1996
Defence time
10:15
Defence place
Sal 116 (hörsalen) Eden
Opponent
- [unknown unknown]