Sustainable Democracy: Political Dropout and the Conditions for Staying in Office (SustainDem)

The project examines premature resignation from political office, that is, departures before the end of a term of office, and the factors that shape the ability of political officeholders to complete their mandates. Such resignations constitute a democratic challenge because they affect continuity, the accumulation of experience, and the representativeness of political assemblies. Despite their importance, our knowledge remains limited, as previous research has typically treated political resignations as part of broader patterns of political turnover rather than as a phenomenon in their own right.

The project combines a national register-based study with a longitudinal case study of a municipality. The national component maps the extent and variation of premature resignations at the municipal, regional, and national levels. The local study follows members of the municipal council and its subordinate committees throughout an entire electoral term using repeated surveys and interviews. Particular attention is paid to how officeholders experience their political roles and how resignation processes develop over time.

The analysis is based on the assumption that premature resignation is shaped by the interaction between life circumstances, political influence, party organization, institutional support structures, and political vulnerability. The project will therefore generate new knowledge about how organizational and institutional conditions affect the ability of officeholders to remain in politics.

Conducted in collaboration between Mid Sweden University and Sundsvall Municipality, the project aims to develop research-based recommendations on how municipalities can strengthen support structures for political officeholders and thereby contribute to more sustainable political careers. At the same time, it will generate new scientific knowledge about premature political resignation as a key issue for the long-term sustainability of democratic governance.