Contents -- List of Abbreviations -- Acknowledgments -- Theory and Background -- 1. Parliamentary Democracies under Siege? / Kaare Strøm and Torbjörn Bergman -- 2. Nordic Europe in Comparative Perspective / Torbjörn Bergman and Kaare Strøm -- The Five Nordics -- 3. Change and Challenges of Danish Parliamentary Democracy / Erik Damgaard -- 4. Finland: Moving in the Opposite Direction / Tapio Raunio -- 5. Iceland: Dramatic Shifts / Svanur Kristjánsson and Indridi H. Indridason -- 6. Norway: From Hønsvaldian Parliamentarism Back to Madisonian Roots / Hanne Marthe Narud and Kaare Strøm -- 7. Swedish Democracy: Crumbling Political Parties, a Feeble Riksdag, and Technocratic Power Holders? / Torbjörn Bergman and Niklas Bolin -- Comparative Conclusions -- 8. Parties and Party Systems in the North / Nicholas Aylott -- 9. East-West Conflict and Europeanization: International Effects on Democratic Politics in the Nordic States / Cynthia Kite -- 10. The Nordics: Demanding Citizens, Complex Polities / Torbjörn Bergman and Kaare Strøm -- Contributors -- Name Index -- Subject Index.