Local Elections

Ulrik Kjaer is Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Management at the University of Southern Denmark.

• 1. Local Elections: From Second-Order Elections to Second-Tier Elections 2. Local Elections in Denmark 3. The Municipal-Parliamentary Turnout Gap 4. Nationalization of Local Party Systems 5. Thinking Locally When Voting Locally 6. A Nationalized, Mayoralized, and Personalized Local Vote 7. Conclusion: Danish Second-Tier Elections

“Ulrik Kjaer’s book, Local Elections, provides a refreshing way of understanding the role, purpose, outcome and process of local elections that enhances our current understanding of the relationship between national and local political contests. It also offers a conceptual and theoretical framework within which to locate our understanding of the similarities between local and national elections as well as the similarities and distinctions between voting in different municipalities. It is a well written, insightful and research-based book which brings the local elections into a much-needed perspective of how they operate in relation to other elections but also reflect local political factors. The book is a must for the local psephologist but also for anyone interested in understanding more fully local elections and local political systems.”Colin Copus, Ghent University, Belgium“This book is a major contribution to the understanding of the role of local elections. It is a comprehensive and empirically well-grounded analysis of the Danish case. In addition, it adds to the general study of the role of local elections in the wider national context, through a development and application of a new theory of second-tier voting.”Anders Lidström, Umeå University, Sweden