Conditional support from below? Understanding the dynamics of municipal amalgamation preferences among local politicians

Abstract

Municipal amalgamations are commonly undertaken with promises of scale effects. But territorial reforms also invoke issues of local identity and democracy, which may be negatively impacted by upscaled local government. This article explores how these frames play out as drivers of amalgamation preferences among local representatives. Utilizing survey data of Norwegian local politicians during the 2014–2020 Local Government Reform, this article shows that local politicians are more likely to support amalgamation when prioritizing and supporting functional scale considerations. Conversely, they are less likely to support amalgamation when invoking issues of local belonging, democracy, and citizens’ influence. But these attitudes are not static. Sources of support and aversion towards amalgamation are at times conditional; the characteristics of the municipality, the individual's status in the local political environment, and the views of the population may both enhance and weaken the degree to which functional or communitarian frames are rallied to support or oppose amalgamation.