The article argues that the theory of issue ownership must be reformulated for use on multiparty systems. The theory, as formulated by Petrocik (1996), claims that the parties’ issue ownership is the critical constant between elections. The parties can achieve a strategic advantage by emphasizing owned issues during the campaign. The aim is to make these owned issues the criteria on which voters base their choice. The article presents an empirical analysis of the Norwegian Storting election of 2001 that shows that issue ownership changes considerably even during the election campaign.
Karlsen, Rune. (2004). Valgkamp i flerpartisystem - aktualisering av saker og kamp om eierskap. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning, 45(4), 611-635.