Hanne Narud, born in Furnes, Norway, in 1958. Ph.D. from the University of Oslo. Professor of Political Science at the University of Oslo. († 2012)
Fellow (1 September 2005 – 30 June 2006)
POLITICAL REPRESENTATION IN MULTIPARTY SYSTEMS
The main purpose of my stay at NIAS was to finish a monograph on political representation in multiparty systems. In this book, which I have been working on in collaboration with a previous NIAS fellow, Emeritus Professor Henry Valen at the Institute for Social Research in Oslo, we analyzed the role of the political party as a vehicle for delegation and accountability. My stay at NIAS has been most fruitful as I was able to elaborate more on the theoretical as well as the empirical challenges concerning in particular the accountability problem. When leaving NIAS, I will have finished all but two of 16 chapters and these will be finished in the early fall for publication in February 2007. In addition, I revised three chapters for an edited book, have had two articles accepted for refereed journals, and finished two conference papers.
The stay has also been successful in terms of making new contacts as well as reestablishing collaboration with Dutch colleagues. In addition, the regular seminars held at NIAS have given me insight into previously unknown fields. Of particular use to my own work were the preparations I had to do in connection with Peter Mair’s lecture on NFA day. Quite a lot of the points discussed there will be incorporated into the last chapter of our book. Also the lecture I gave together with Joop van Holsteyn in April was useful in this respect. In addition, I was able to do some updating in terms of reading, particularly concerning literature on representation and elections. I would like to emphasize that the atmosphere at NIAS has been most rewarding both academically and socially, and I want to use this opportunity to thank NIAS, its staff, and my fellow colleagues for a splendid year.