ABSTRACT
In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1905, Finland, a grand duchy of the Russian Empire at that time, underwent radical parliamentary reform. Europe’s last four-estate system of representation was transformed into a unicameral parliament elected by universal and equal male and female suffrage in 1906. The decision to adopt a unicameral parliament was a dramatic departure from Finland’s bicameral model parliaments, such as the Swedish Riksdag. This chapter examines how and why Finnish reformers abandoned the bicameral model. In order to understand the reform, the chapter examines how bicameral parliaments and their upper chambers were viewed and conceptualised in Finland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century based on the experiences of and inspired by other countries. Furthermore, the chapter examines the role of national and transnational political traditions and ideologies. The revolutionary context of the reform was crucial for the organisation of the Finnish Parliament, opening a window of opportunity for radical suffrage reform. Possible negative side effects of democratisation, however, were restrained by implementing surrogates for an upper chamber in unicameral parliamentary procedures.
