The transformative impact of the Great Recession on the political system

The conclusion summarises the key arguments of the book and relates them to broader issues of electoral politics and party system change. The Icelandic case and the ICENES data provide a unique opportunity to analyse the interplay between long-term changes in the social and political context and how they impact electoral behaviour, as well as how such a catastrophic event as the financial collapse in 2008 can have a long-lasting influence on party systems and mass political attitudes and behaviour. We discuss how long-term changes and the change in 2008 have affected and changed voting patterns, electoral participation and the party system in Iceland, as well as whether those changes have persisted throughout the post-crisis period.