Efnisyfirlit

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Series page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Figures
• Tables
• Notes on contributors
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Coming to terms with crisis
• The macro- and micro-economic background
• The politics of protest, debt, and justice
• Constitutional reform as a societal transitional mechanism
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Part I The road to economic disaster
• 1 Iceland’s financial crisis An economic perspective
• Macro-economic developments preceding the crisis
• Financial escapades become visible
• Social pressures drown voices of protest
• The downturn and its causes
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• 2 The rise and fall of a financial empire Looking at the banking collapse from the inside out
• The privatization process
• The unsustainable expansion of the banking system
• The banks’ skyrocketing growth of assets
• Questionable banking practices: cross-ownership and market manipulation
• The point of no return
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• 3 The political economy of Iceland’s boom and bust
• Introduction
• Accounting for financial crises
• Regulation and empirical experience
• Accounting for the Icelandic boom and bust
• Policy precondition: the shift toward neoliberalism
• Changed institutional environment
• From banking privatization to a bubbling economy
• Debt accumulation—how much and who did it?
• Why did they do it?
• Speculation: “Wall Street on the Tundra”
• Increased inequality: big gains at the top
• Conclusions
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Part II The political and societal responses to the crisis
• 4 Political opportunity, framing, and mobilization in Iceland’s post-crash protests
• Grounded work
• The emergence of political opportunity
• Credibility crisis
• Disruption of the taken-for-granted
• Perception of opportunity
• Framing the crisis
• Emergence of a collective action frame
• Exploring voices on the ground
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• 5 Contentious politics, political expediency, and the real costs of the Icesave debt
• The context: a brief history of the Icesave dispute
• Political process theory and theories of participatory governance
• The Icesave dispute: the role of governance and democratic engagement
• Icesave and the Icesave referenda as democratic achievement
• Icesave and the Icesave referenda as political expediency
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• 6 Democratic practices, governance, and the financial crash
• Investigations of the financial collapse
• Policies of regulation
• Political practices
• The media and the public sphere
• Weaknesses in Icelandic democratic culture
• Post-crash democratic experiments
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• 7 The politics of transition, memory, and justice Assigning blame for the crisis
• Introduction
• Defining the nature of a societal shock
• Juggling restorative and retributive justice
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• 8 The strategy of redistribution Iceland’s way out of the crisis
• Introduction
• The policy debate: stimulus, austerity, or a mixed approach?
• The strategy of redistribution
• Iceland’s progress through the crisis
• Policy profiles: how to cut and not cut welfare expenditures
• Activation stepped up
• Poverty contained
• Debt relief
• Conclusions
• Notes
• References
• Part III The politics of Iceland’s constitutional reform
• 9 Icelandic constitution-making in comparative perspective1
• Upstream moments
• Midstream moments
• Downstream moments
• Upstream moments in Iceland
• Midstream moments in Iceland
• Downstream moments
• Notes
• Bibliography
• 10 Constitution on ice
• Historical background
• The making of Iceland’s post-crash constitution
• Constitutional assembly elected
• Enter the Supreme Court
• National referendum
• Parliament’s turn
• What went wrong?
• Does the bill go too far?
• What happened next
• Some criticisms
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• 11 Constitutional revision A weak legislative framework compounded by political disputes
• A unique task in unprecedented times: civil society and the crash
• Rationalizing constitutional change in Iceland
• Disputes over fundamental constitutional questions
• Civil society and the constitutional process
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• 12 Constituent power and authorization Anatomy and failure of a constitution-making process
• Theoretical approaches to constitution-making
• Authorship and authorization: the case of Iceland
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• 13 The Constitutional Council Objectives and shortcomings of an innovative process
• Motives for constitutional revision
• Constitutional reforms: aims—and setbacks
• The proposals of the Constitutional Council
• Exercising the constituent power by drafting a constitution:an assessment
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• 14 The Constituent Assembly A study in failure
• Public against Parliament: the activist face of the Constitutional Council
• From clean slate to consensus: methodological weaknesses
• We—the people: the public again
• Transitional solidarity
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index