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Gunnar Grendstad

Gunnar Grendstad

Position

Professor

Affiliation

E-mail
gunnar.grendstad@uib.no
Phone number
+47 55589486
Visitor address
Christies gate 15
5007 Bergen
Postal address
P.O. Box 7802
NO-5020 Bergen
Norway

Gunnar Grendstad

Position

Professor

Affiliation

Short info

Gunnar Grendstad teaches and conducts research on courts and judicial behavior.
Research

Gunnar Grendstad teaches and conducts research on courts and judicial behavior, especially the Norwegian Supreme Court. He is the principal investigator on the research database Doranoh with information on justices, cases and votes on the Supreme Court, most extensively from 2008 and to the present. His research has been published in International Journal of Constitutional Law, Justice System Journal, Norsk Statsvitenskaplig Tidsskrift, Tidsskrift for Rettsvitenskap, Lov og Rett, European Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, and International Journal for Court Administration.

Grendstad is co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Judicial Behaviour together with Lee Epstein, Urška Šadl og Keren Weinshall (Oxford University Press, 2024).

Together with William R. Shaffer, Eric N. Waltenburg and Jørn Øyrehagen Sunde he has published Policy Making in an Independent Judiciary. The Norwegian Supreme Court (ECPR Press, 2015) and Proactive and Powerful. Law Clerks and the Institutionalization of the Norwegian Supreme Court (Eleven International Publishing, 2020).

Previously, Grendstad has done research on Cultural Theory with publications in Journal of Theoretical Politics, Party Politics, European Journal of Political Research, Acta Sociologica, Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, Scandinavian Political Studies and GeoJournal. Together with Michael Thompson and Per Selle he edited Cultural Theory as Political Science (Routledge). Previous research has also included environmental attitudes and environmental movements with publications in Risk Analysis, Environmental Politics, and Environment and Behavior. Together with Per Selle, Kristin Strømsnes and  Øystein Bortne, he published Unique Environmentalism. A Comparative Perspective (Springer).

Grendstad has been visiting researcher at University of California, Berkeley; Purdue University; University of Washington, Seattle, and University of Agder, The Department of Law. Grendstad participates in the research groups Citizen, Opinion, Representation (The department of comparative politics) and The research group on the rule of law (Forskargruppa for rettsstat, The Faculty of Law).

Publications
Academic article
Media feature article
Media interview
Academic book chapter
Conference lecture
Letter to the editor
Research report
Lecture
Editorial/Leader article
Non-fiction monograph
Radio or TV participation
Master’s thesis
Book anthology
Academic monograph
Doctoral thesis (PhD)
Popular science article
Journal review
Textbook

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.

Selected publications

Books

Epstein, Lee, Gunnar Grendstad, Urška Šadl og Keren Weinshall (Eds.). Forthcoming. The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Judicial Behaviour. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

Grendstad, G., W.R. Shaffer, J.Ø. Sunde, & E.N. Waltenburg. 2020. Proactive and Powerful. Law Clerks and the Institutionalization of the Norwegian Supreme Court. The Hague: Eleven International Publishing.

Grendstad, Gunnar, William R. Shaffer, and Eric N. Waltenburg. 2015. Policy Making in an Independent Judiciary. The Norwegian Supreme Court. Colchester, UK: ECPR Press.

Grendstad, G., Selle, P., Strømsnes, K. & Bortne, Ø. (2006). Unique Environmentalism. A Comparative Perspective. New York. Springer. (BIBSYS)

Bortne, Ø., Grendstad, G., Selle, P., & Strømsnes, K. (2001). Norsk Miljøvernorganisering mellom Stat og Lokalsamfunn. Oslo: Samlaget. (BIBSYS)

Thompson, M., Grendstad, G., & Selle, P. (Eds.). (1999). Cultural Theory as Political Science. London: Routledge. (BIBSYS)

Grendstad, G., & Selle, P. (Eds.). (1996). Kultur som levemåte. Oslo: Samlaget. (BIBSYS)

Articles

Grendstad, Gunnar. 2025. "«For mange er kalt, men få er utvalgt.» En analyse av innstillingen av dommere til Norges Høyesterett 2004–2025." Lov og Rett 64 (9):605-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18261/lor.64.9.3 

Nie, Mintao, Gunnar Grendstad, William R. Shaffer, and Eric N. Waltenburg. 2025. "Time After Time: The Effects of Small Group Forces and Institutional Features on the Pace of Adjudication." European Journal of Empirical legal Studies 2 (2):1-22. https://doi.org/10.62355/ejels.26347 

Bentsen, Henrik Litlere, Jon Kåre Skiple, Mark McKenzie, and Gunnar Grendstad. 2025. "The impact of judicial leadership on consensus formation: Evidence from the Supreme Court of Norway." Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 22 (1 March):114-29. https://doi.org/10.1111/jels.12408 

Bentsen, Henrik, Jon Kåre Skiple, Marte Birkeland Deichman-Sørensen, Gunnar Grendstad, and Malcolm Langford. 2024. "Innen rimelig tid. Sakskompleksitet og saksbehandlingstid i straffesaker i lagmannsrettene." Lov og Rett. Lov og Rett. 63 (7): 449-473. https://doi.org/10.18261/lor.63.7.3

Ghavanini, Anna Wallerman, Gunnar Grendstad, and Johan Karlsson Schaffer. 2023. "Institutions that Define the Policy-Making Role of Courts: A Comparative Analysis of the Supreme Courts of Scandinavia." International Journal of Constitutional Law. 21 (3): 770-797. https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/moad068  

Skiple, Jon Kåre, Ingvild Misje, & Gunnar Grendstad. 2022. Er Geografisk Representasjon i Høyesterett viktig? Holdninger blant befolkning og eliter i sentrum og periferien av Norge. Norsk statsvitenskaplig tidsskrift, 38 (4): 178-196. https://doi.org/10.18261/nst.38.4.4

Nie, Mintao, Gunnar Grendstad, Eric N. Waltenburg og William R. Shaffer. 2022. «The Impact of Female Leadership in Collegial Courts on Time to Render Merits Decisions: Evidence from the Norwegian Supreme Court», Justice System Journal. 43 (3): 353-372. https://doi.org/10.1080/0098261X.2022.2095944 Replication files: https://doi.org/10.18710/5NP4DG  

Meland, Ida Marie Støp, Welat Akman Westrheim, and Gunnar Grendstad. 2022. "Spørsmål og dialog i muntlige forhandlinger i Norges Høyesterett." Lov og Rett 61 (2):117-128. https://doi.org/10.18261/lor.61.2.5 

Bentsen, Henrik L., Gunnar Grendstad, William R. Shaffer, and Eric N. Waltenburg. 2021 "A High Court Plays the Accordion: Validating Ex Ante Case Complexity on Oral Arguments." Justice System Journal. 42 (2):130–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/0098261X.2021.1881667 Replication files: https://doi.org/10.18710/DWIX6Y

Grendstad, Gunnar, and Jon Kåre Skiple. 2021. "Tilfeldighetsprinsippet i Norges Høyesterett: Fordelingen av Saker Mellom Dommere og Fordelingen av Dommere på Avdeling. En empirisk undersøkelse." Tidsskrift for Rettsvitenskap 134 (1):46-76. https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1504-3096-2021-01-02 Replication files: https://doi.org/10.18710/6ECTTE

Grendstad, Gunnar, William R. Shaffer, , Jørn Ø. Sunde, & Eric N. Waltenburg. (2020). From Backlogs to Quality Assurance. The Development of Law Clerk Units at Norwegian Courts. International Journal for Court Administration 11(3), 1-17. doi:http://doi.org/10.36745/ijca.352 

Bjørnebekk, Olav Laug, Gunnar Grendstad, William R. Shaffer, & Eric N. Waltenburg. 2020. "Case inertia and a better lawyer secure victory in court." Retfærd 43(2):51-70.  (request pdf and replication files)

Arnesen, Petter Kristiansen, Henrik L. Bentsen, and Gunnar Grendstad. 2018. "Internasjonalisering, sakskompleksitet og arbeidsmengde i Norges Høyesterett." Lov og Rett, 57(7):391-411. (request pdf and replication files).

Cappelen, Cornelius, Gunnar Grendstad, and Jon Kåre Skiple. 2016. Avveiningen mellom justismord og falske frifinnelser: en surveyundersøkelse av folks rettsoppfatning. Tidsskrift for Rettsvitenskap 129 (2-3):107-137. (request pdf)

Skiple, Jon Kåre, Gunnar Grendstad, William R. Shaffer, and Eric N. Waltenburg. 2016. "Supreme Court Justices’ Economic Behavior. A Multi-Level Model Analysis." Scandinavian Political Studies. 39 (1):73-94. (request pdf) [This is an open access article]

Grendstad, Gunnar, William R. Shaffer, and Eric N. Waltenburg. 2016. Ideologi og grunnholdninger hos dommerne i Norges Høyesterett. Svar til høyesterettsdommer Clement Endresen. Lov og Rett 55 (7):443-454. (request pdf)

Grendstad, Gunnar. 2015. "Norges Høyesterett 1815-2015. Forskning på dommeratferd i Norge." Norsk Statsvitenskapelig Tidsskrift 31 (4):273-277. (request pdf)

Grendstad, Gunnar, William R. Shaffer, Jon Kåre Skiple, and Eric N. Waltenburg. 2015. "Statsvennlighet i Norges Høyesterett 1963-2013." Norsk Statsvitenskapelig Tidsskrift 31 (4):305-32. (request pdf)

Shaffer, William R., Gunnar Grendstad, and Eric N. Waltenburg. 2015. "Is Diversity Just for Show? Diversity and Appointment to the Norwegian Supreme Court 1945-2011." Retfærd. 38(1):18-42. (request pdf)

Grendstad, Gunnar, William R. Shaffer, and Eric N. Waltenburg. 2014. Høyesterettsdommerne er politisk farget. Svar til Morten Nadim. Lov og Rett 53(2):109-123. (request pdf)

Shaffer, William R., Gunnar Grendstad, and Eric N. Waltenburg. 2014. Standards of interpretation. Rejoinder to Føllesdal. Tidsskrift for Rettsvitenskap. 127(1):77-89. (request pdf)

Skiple, Jon Kåre, Frøy Gudbrandsen, and Gunnar Grendstad. 2013. «..som speiler det samfunnet vi har» Høyesterett, asylbarn og den alminnelige rettsoppfatning. Lov & Rett. 52 (9):609-629. (request pdf)

Grendstad, Gunnar, William R. Shaffer, and Eric N. Waltenburg. 2013. Høyesterettsdommerne som Grunnlovens voktere. Prøvingsretten i 26 plenumsdommer med dissens, 1925-2010. In Tolkingar av Grunnlova. Om forfatningsutviklinga 1814-2014, edited by Eirik Holmøyvik. Oslo: Unipax/Akademisk Publisering.

Grendstad, Gunnar, Grendstad, Gunnar, and Hilmar L. Mjelde. 2013. Republikanerne vinner i 2016. Stat og Styring 23 (1):57-59. (request pdf)

William R. Shaffer, and Eric N. Waltenburg. 2012. Mellom nøytralitet og aktivisme: Lovene tolker ikke seg selv. Tidsskrift for Rettsvitenskap 125 (4):521-534. (request pdf)

Grendstad, Gunnar, William R. Shaffer, and Eric N. Waltenburg (2012). "Ideologi og grunnholdninger hos dommerne i Norges Høyesterett" Lov og Rett 51(4):240-253. (request pdf)

Grendstad, Gunnar, William R. Shaffer, and Eric N. Waltenburg (2011). "Ikke til verden av politisk hvite storker." Lov og Rett 50(7): 432-442. (request pdf)

Grendstad, Gunnar, William R. Shaffer, and Eric N. Waltenburg (2011). "When justices disagree. The Influence of Ideology and Geography on Economic Voting on the Norwegian Supreme Court." Retfærd 32(1): 3-22. (request pdf)

Grendstad, Gunnar, William R. Shaffer, and Eric N. Waltenburg (2010). "Revealed Preferences of Norwegian Supreme Court Justices." Tidsskrift for Rettsvitenskap 123 (1): 73-101. (request pdf)

Grendstad, Gunnar, and Jon Dagsland Holgersen (2009). Varighet og Velstand. En prediksjonsmodell for ettermælet og omdømmet til de norske statsministrene i det 20. århundre. Norsk Statsvitenskapelig Tidsskrift 25 (2): 99-124. (request pdf)

Strømsnes, Kristin, Per Selle and Gunnar Grendstad (2009). Environmentalism between State and Local Community: Why Greenpeace has failed in Norway. Environmental Politics 18 (3): 391-407. (request pdf)

Grendstad, Gunnar, and Eirik Vestrheim (2008). Prediksjon av amerikanske presidentvalg: 2008 post mortem og 2012 prediksjonen. Stat og Styring 18 (4): 54-56. (request pdf)

Grendstad, Gunnar, and Eirik Vestrheim (2008). Svak økonomi og negativ gjenvalgseffekt svekker McCain. Stat og Styring 18 (3):15-19. (request pdf)

Grendstad, G. (2008). And we will know their greatness by the trail of controversy: Washington, Lincoln, and F. Roosevelt and their increasingly contested successors. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 38(3), 476-490. (request pdf)

Grendstad, G. (2007). Causal Complexity and Party Preference. European Journal of Political Research, 46(1), 121-149. [Reprinted in: W. Paul Vogt, ed 2008 ‘Selecting Research Methods,’ Benchmarks in Social Research Methods Series. Vol. 4: Methods for Analysing and Reporting Results. London: Sage Publications, pp. 159-183. (BIBSYS)] (request pdf)

Grendstad, G. (2003). Comparing political orientations. Grid-group theory versus the left-right dimension in the five Nordic countries. European Journal of Political Research, 42(1), 1-21. [Reprinted in pp. 365-385: Perri 6 and Gerald Mars, eds, 2008. The Institutional Dynamics of Culture. Aldershot, UK, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Vol I. (BIBSYS)]. (request pdf)

Grendstad, G. (2003). Reconsidering Nordic Party Space. Scandinavian Political Studies, 26(3), 193-217. (request pdf)

Grendstad, G., & Sundback, S. (2003). Sociodemographic Effects on Cultural Biases. A Nordic Study of Grid-Group Theory. Acta Sociologica, 46(4), 289-306. (request pdf)

Grendstad, G. (2001). Nordic Cultural Baselines. Accounting for Domestic Convergence and Foreign Policy Divergence. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, 3(1), 5-29. (request pdf)

Olli, E., Grendstad, G., & Wollebæk, D. (2001). Correlates of Environmental Behaviors. Bringing Back Social Context. Environment and Behavior, 33(2), 181-208. (request pdf)

Grendstad, G. (2000). Grid-Group Theory and Political Orientations. Effects of Cultural Biases in Norway in the 1990s. Scandinavian Political Studies, 23(3), 217-244. (request pdf)

Grendstad, G., & Selle, P. (2000). Cultural Myths of Human and Physical Nature: Integrated or Separated? Risk Analysis, 20(1), 27-39. (request pdf)

Grendstad, G. (1999). A Political Cultural Map of Europe. A Survey Approach. GeoJournal, 47(3), 463-475. (request pdf)

Grendstad, G. (1999). The New Ecological Paradigm Scale. Examination and Scale Analysis. Environmental Politics, 8(4), 194-205.

Grendstad, G., & Strand, T. (1999). Organizational Types and Leadership Roles. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 15(4), 385-403. (request pdf)

Grendstad, G., & Wollebæk, D. (1998). Greener Still? An Empirical Examination of Eckersley's Ecocentric Approach. Environment and Behavior, 30(5), 653-675. (request pdf)

Grendstad, G., & Rommetvedt, H. (1997). EU-tilhengernes manglende gjennomslagskraft. Norsk Statsvitenskapelig Tidsskrift, 13(1), 77-86.

Grendstad, G. (1995). Party Followership and Leadership in Norway. A Political Culture Approach. Party Politics, 1(2), 221-243. (request pdf)

Grendstad, G., & Selle, P. (1995). Cultural Theory and The New Institutionalism. Journal of Theoretical Politics, 7(1), 5-27. (reprinted in: B. G. Peters & J. Pierre (Eds., 2007), Institutionalism. New Dehli: Sage.) (request pdf)

Grendstad, G., & Selle, P. (1994). Kultur som Levemåte. Politica, 26(4), 420-438. (request pdf)

 

Book chapters

Grendstad, Gunnar, William R. Shaffer, and Eric N. Waltenburg (2017) "Norway - Managed Openness and Transparency." pp. 235-254, In Supreme Courts and Reporters: The Global Perspective, ed. R. Davis and D. Taras. Cambridge.

Grendstad, G. & Ninja Næss (forthcoming). ‘Now you see it. Now you don’t. The Norwegian Green Party’. I W.Rüdig (Ed), Green Party Members in Western Europe. Boston: MIT Press.

Grendstad, G. (2008). Causal Complexity and Party Preference, pp. 159-183 in W. Paul Vogt, ed, Selecting Research Methods. Benchmarks in Social Research Methods Series. Vol. 4: Methods for Analysing and Reporting Results. London: Sage Publications. (BIBSYS) [Reprinted from 2007, European Journal of Political Research, 46(1), 121-149 (request pdf)].

Grendstad, G. (2008). ’Velgerne’. I Bjørn Erik Rasch (Ed.), Amerikansk Politikk. Abstrakt Forlag. Pp 142-177. (request pdf)

Grendstad, G. (2008). Comparing political orientations. Grid-group theory versus the left-right dimension in the five Nordic countries. Pp. 365-385 in The Institutional Dynamics of Culture, edited by P. 6 and G. Mars. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishing Limited, Vol I. [Reprinted from 2003 European Journal of Political Research, 42(1)].

Grendstad, G., & Selle, P. (2007). Cultural Theory and The New Institutionalism. pp. 240-260, in B. G. Peters & J. Pierre (Eds.), Institutionalism. New Dehli: Sage [Reprinted from Journal of Theoretical Politics 1995].

Grendstad, G., & Selle, P. (1999). The Formation and Transformation of Preferences. Cultural Theory and Postmaterialism Compared. In M. Thompson, G. Grendstad, & P. Selle (Eds.), Cultural Theory as Political Science (pp. 43-58). London: Routledge.

Thompson, M., Grendstad, G., & Selle, P. (1999). Cultural Theory as Political Science. In M. Thompson, G. Grendstad, & P. Selle (Eds.), Cultural Theory as Political Science (pp. 1-23). London: Routledge.

Grendstad, G., & Selle, P. (1997). Cultural Theory, Postmaterialism and Environmental Attitudes. In R. J. Ellis & M. Thompson (Eds.), Culture Matters: Essays in Honor of Aaron Wildavsky (pp. 151-168). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Grendstad, G. (1997). Kultur og Ledelse. In H. Byrkjeflot (Ed.), Fra Styring til Ledelse (pp. 123-135). Oslo: Fagbokforlaget.

Grendstad, G., & Rommetvedt, H. (1997). Oljehovedstadens politiske kulturlandskap. En sammenligning av holdninger og verdier i Stavanger-området og Norge. In H. Rommetvedt (Ed.), Verdier og Valg. Oljehovedstadens Politiske Kulturlandskap (pp. 175-231). Oslo: Norges Forskningsråd.

Grendstad, G., & Rommetvedt, H. (1997). Fem Tyver på Samme Marked? En Sammenlikning og en 'Empirisk Syntese' av Fem Perspektiver på Politiske Holdninger. In H. Rommetvedt (Ed.), Verdier og Valg. Oljehovedstadens Politiske Kulturlandskap (pp. 233-254). Oslo: Norges Forskningsråd.

Grendstad, G., & Selle, P. (1996). Introduksjon. In G. Grendstad & P. Selle (Eds.), Kultur som Levemåte (pp. 11-32). Oslo: Samlaget.

Grendstad, G., & Selle, P. (1996). Kulturteorien og den nye institusjonalismen. In G. Grendstad & P. Selle (Eds.), Kultur som Levemåte (pp. 117-137). Oslo: Samlaget.

Grendstad, G., & Selle, P. (1996). Kulturteori, postmaterialisme og haldningar til miljøvern. In G. Grendstad & P. Selle (Eds.), Kultur som Levemåte (pp. 286-313). Oslo: Samlaget.

Grendstad, G., Selle, P., & Strømsnes, K. (1996). Natur og Kultur. In G. Grendstad & P. Selle (Eds.), Kultur som Levemåte (pp. 183-199). Oslo: Samlaget.

Grendstad, G., & Rommetvedt, H. (1996). Fem tyver på samme marked? In G. Grendstad & P. Selle (Eds.), Kultur som Levemåte (pp. 314-329). Oslo: Samlaget.

Book reviews

Grendstad, G. (2009). ‘Republicans and the Black Vote' - M.K.Fauntroy. American Politics Review (xx):yy

Grendstad, G. (2007). ‘Mudslingers: The Top 25 Negative Political Campaigns of All Time Countdown from No. 25 to No. 1’ - K.C. Swint. American Politics Review (48):16.

Grendstad, G. (2000). 'Urban Innovation. Creative Strategies for Turbulent Times;' 'Citizen Politics in Post-Industrial Societies;' 'The New Political Culture' - T.N. Clark et al. eds. Sosiologisk Tidsskrift (2), 149-152.

Grendstad, G. (1997). 'Social Movements and Culture' - H. Johnston and B. Klandermans (eds.). Acta Sociologica, 40(1), 112-114.

Grendstad, G. (1994). 'Inquiry and Change. The Troubled Attempt to Understand and Shape Society' - C.E. Lindblom. Norsk Statsvitenskapelig Tidsskrift, 10(1), 83-85.

Grendstad, G. (1994). 'Energi og Miljø. Nye Stridsspørsmål i Møte med Gamle Strukturer' - B. Aardal. Norsk Statsvitenskapelig Tidsskrift, 10(3), 344-346.

Grendstad, G. (1991). 'Cultural Theory' - M.Thompson, R. Ellis, A. Wildavsky. Norsk Statsviten­skapelig Tidsskrift, 7(4), 320-322.