| 1. |
- Towns, Ann E., 1970-
(författare)
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Norms and social hierarchies : Understanding international policy diffusion "from below"
- 2012
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Ingår i: International Organization. - 0020-8183 .- 1531-5088. ; 66:2, s. 179-209
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article aims to rethink the operation of norms in international policy diffusion. Norms do not simply standardize state behaviors, as is conventionally argued; norms also draw on and set up hierarchical social orders among states. Through a conceptual rethinking we gain a better understanding of where-among which states-new policies may first emerge: social hierarchies create incentives for new policies to develop at the margins of international society so that policies may diffuse "from below." We also get a better grasp of how policy advocates frame the appropriateness or benefits of a new state practice: they must frame policy demands in terms of the international standing and rank of the targeted state. This article's empirical aspiration is to use these insights to help account for the international policy diffusion of legal sex quotas, a policy to increase the level of female legislators that developed first among "developing" states rather than among the so-called core of international society. By pointing to the link between norms and social hierarchy, the article helps account for policy diffusion "from below." © 2012 The IO Foundation.
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| 2. |
- Berlin, Johan, 1975-
(författare)
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Synchronous work - myth or reality? : a critical study of teams in health and medical care
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Evaluation In Clinical Practice. - London : Blackwell Publishing Ltd. - 1356-1294 .- 1365-2753. ; 16:6, s. 1314-1321
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Abstract Rationale, aims and objectives In this article, ideal conceptions about teamwork are tested. The research question posed is: How are teams in psychiatry formed? Three theoretical concepts that distinguish groups from teams are presented: sequentiality, parallelism and synchronicity. The presumption is that groups cooperate sequentially and teams synchronously, while the parallel work mode is a transitional form between group and team. Methods Three psychiatric outpatient teams at a university hospital specialist clinic were studied. Data were collected through 25 personal interviews and 82 hours of observations. The data collection was carried out over 18 months (2008–2009). Results Results show: (1) that the three theoretical distinctions between group and team need to be supplemented with two intermediate forms, semiparallel and semisynchronous teamwork; and (2) that teamwork is not characterized by striving towards a synchronous ideal but instead is marked by an adaptive interaction between sequential, parallel and synchronous working modes. Conclusions The article points to a new intermediate stage between group and team. This intermediate stage is called semiparallel teamwork. The study shows that practical teamwork is not characterized by a synchronous ideal, but rather is about how to adaptively find acceptable solutions to a series of practical problems. The study emphasizes the importance of the team varying between different working modes, so-called semisystematics.
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| 3. |
- Jansson, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
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Outsourcing and backsourcing in a time of crisis – experiences of double opportunism
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Review of Public Administration. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 1229-4659 .- 2331-7795. ; 29:2, s. 102-122
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article addresses the question of how public organizations with limited capacity manage to handle large scale crises. The case analyzed in this article is the sourcing of accommodation during the migration crisis in Sweden of 2015–2016. The event was a game-changer in Swedish migration policy following a more hesitant policy than before, even though new and substantial migration crisis have followed since then. Results show how the legal framework for procurements was not adapted for extraordinary events. The Swedish state was forced to pay exaggerated prices as private contractors took advantage of the acute demand. The study develops our theoretical understanding of the sourcing process during crises and show how the short-term perspective and uncertainties that characterize crises encourage both suppliers and procurers of services to act opportunistically.
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| 4. |
- Coetzee, Wayne Stephen, 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Branding ‘progressive’ security : The case of Sweden
- 2024
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Ingår i: Cooperation and Conflict. - : Sage Publications. - 0010-8367 .- 1460-3691. ; 59:1, s. 3-128
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Contemporary research on so-called Nordic branding has provided crucial insights into the social power of states and how various actors use and circulate ‘progressive’ nation brand tropes for political and commercial goals. Hitherto, the literature on Nordic branding has focused on a wide range of substantive issues, among other things, human rights, gender equality, social welfare and foreign aid, but considerably less attention has been paid to the topic of security. The present article adds to a small but established literature on how the security sphere is increasingly entangled with nation branding. In the Nordic region, we argue, the latter is particularly evident in the case of Sweden – one of the world’s largest per-capita arms exporters in the post-Cold War era but also a country known and often revered for its peaceful and progressive image. Focusing on the case of Sweden, the article contributes to knowledge of how defence industry-related actors (both public and private) draw on and frame nation branding tropes to sell and legitimise their products and services to both insiders (domestic constituents) and outsiders (the global security market).
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| 5. |
- Jezierska, Katarzyna, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Taming feminism? : The place of gender equality in the "Progressive Sweden" brand
- 2018
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Ingår i: Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1751-8040 .- 1751-8059. ; 4:1, s. 55-63
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As prior work on nation branding in Japan, Canada and Iceland has shown, gender can be an important component in nation branding. This article looks at the evolution of the idea of gender equality as a “Swedish” trait, from the initial incorporation of gender equality in Swedish state identity in the 1990s to contemporary nation branding. Based on standard discourse analysis of branding documents, branding websites and social media presence administered by the public diplomacy agency, the Swedish Institute, we show that gender equality remains a central pillar in the “Progressive Sweden” brand. In contrast with other national brands, “Progressive Sweden” is devoid of the more androcentric narratives and sexually objectifying representations of women. However, the “Progressive Sweden” narrative sports its own peculiarities, as it presents a liberal dreamscape that slides between utopian ideals and generalizations about “Sweden” as a unified actor whose population shares behaviors and goals. Discord and political struggle are written out of this narrative. Despite its rhetorical centrality in Swedish foreign policy, feminism thus disappears from view in the “Progressive Sweden” brand. The article ends with some considerations for the future of Swedish nation branding.
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| 6. |
- Towns, Ann E., 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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The equality conundrum : Gender and nation in the ideology of the Sweden Democrats
- 2014
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Ingår i: Party Politics. - : SAGE Publications. - 1354-0688 .- 1460-3683. ; 20:2, s. 237-247
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article examines the gender ideology of the parliamentary radical right populist party (RRPP) – the Sweden Democrats. More specifically, the article analyses how the party integrates old nationalist ideas about the importance of traditional gender roles and male superiority for the stability and welfare of the nation with new nationalist ideas about Sweden as the most gender-equal nation in the world. Prior studies suggest that RRPPs have integrated gender equality as a policy measure against multiculturalism and immigration. Our analysis shows this to be true also of the Sweden Democrats. However, unlike prior scholarship, we argue that the integration of gender equality is a tenuous and difficult one, as nationalist ideologies generally rest on ideas of sexual difference and male superiority. While the Sweden Democrats claim to support gender equality in discussions of multiculturalism and immigration, the party is a fierce critic of gender equality in all other contexts.
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| 7. |
- Jezierska, Katarzyna, 1979-
(författare)
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Coming out of the liberal closet : Think tanks and de-democratization in Poland
- 2022
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Ingår i: Democratization. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1351-0347 .- 1743-890X. ; , s. 1-19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- De-democratization is a global trend, with an increasing number of governments gradually dismantling democratic institutions and norms in their countries. De-democratization can be seen as an incremental crisis that radically redraws the sociopolitical order. This article is among the first to highlight external knowledge producers in autocratizing contexts. Relying on a unique data set of 40 interviews with Polish think tankers conducted before and after the Law and Justice party came to power in 2015 and began pushing the country in an authoritarian direction, the article analyses how liberal think tanks handle de-democratization. The findings show that autocratization entails a reconfiguration of the think tank space; i.e. think tanks aligning with the government blossom and think tanks opposing the government are marginalized through a lack of public funding and access to policymakers. Second, significant changes in think tank tactics, strategies, and identities, especially among liberal organizations, are exposed. The doxic mode through which liberal think tanks produce analyses and provide policy advice as “nonpartisan experts” has shifted to the use of contentious tactics and the assumption of an openly political identity as “democracy defenders”
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| 8. |
- Coetzee, Wayne Stephen, 1984
(författare)
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The Interplay Between National Interest and Idealism Regarding Sweden’s Gripen Exports
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scientia Militaria, South African Journal of Military Studies. - : Stellenbosch University. - 1022-8136 .- 2224-0020 .- 2309-9682. ; 45:1, s. 45-66
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The study on which this article is based, aimed to map out and analyse the ways in which Sweden’s Gripen exports have been shaped and sustained since the end of the Cold War. It did so by examining three interrelated factors that have had an effect on Sweden’s defence industry. By illustrating how societal preferences, defence and security policy shifts, and the role of national identity have influenced weapons manufacturing and exports, this article provides a balanced overview of the most salient push and pull factors of Sweden’s Gripen exports. The central contention of the study was that Swedish weapons manufacturing and exports often involve a close interaction between interests and ideals. Moreover, due to the multitude of richly correlated, interconnected and mutually reinforcing elements related to such practices, there cannot be a neat and parsimonious distinction between agents and structures and domestic and international settings. Instead, the study was especially reflective of real-world practices and the strategic relational approach between those forces that shape and sustain Sweden’s Gripen exports.
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| 9. |
- Adamson, Göran, 1963-
(författare)
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Why Do Right-Wing Populist Parties Prosper? : Twenty-One Suggestions to the Anti-Racist
- 2019
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Ingår i: Society. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0147-2011 .- 1936-4725. ; 56:1, s. 47-58
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this piece, Goran Adamson argues that the anti-racist rhetoric is naive and dangerously counter-productive. In theory, they refer to populist parties fueling on the anti-racist elite’s outcries. In practise, however, the anti-racists have forgotten all about it, and seem to believe that right-wing populism will vanish if only it is told off. Shocked, anti-racists say populist parties gain voters despite having certain views. But nobody votes on a party despite its view. True to leftist sensationalism, anti-racists always talk about fascism within right-wing populist parties, thereby overlooking a wide array of other causes for voter appeal. Prone to instant aggression, anti-racists react with fury to any populist provocation, thereby contributing to the meteoric rise of contemporary populism in the West. Instead of conducting a proper analysis, anti-racists say how can people vote on these parties and so on - much like an anti-racist bourgeoisie. Anti-racists, Goran Adamson claims, seem to think knowledge of right-wing populism is compromising, as if you would be tainted by it. In fact, it is the other way around. Criticism requires knowledge - and an ignorant anti-racist might, in the long run, have no power to resist the allure of right-wing populism. People vote on right-wing populist parties, anti-racists maintain, because these people fail to understand. But they claim they do, even though they have reached other conclusions. The responsibility of the financial and political classes for provoking popular reactions is minimized, while the distress among ordinary people is belittled or moralized. The political class ignores a central leftist principle: social behavior has often political/economic explanations. As a direct result of multiculturalism, the pet theory among anti-racists, society’s underprivileged groups - domestic workers and migrants - are in constant conflict instead of uniting against globalization and neoliberal deregulation. This is called divide and rule. In their quest for ideological purity, any anti-EU sentiment, anti-racists claim, is right-wing extreme, hence driving scores of voters into the arms of right-wing populism. These parties are further boosted by the fact that anti-racists sneer at family values and cultural traditionalism. Vocal victims of EU’s austerity measures are dismissed as right-wingers, further fueling political polarization. Popular and populist, anti-racists maintain, is basically the same thing. As a result, democracy becomes politically tainted, and the anti-racist elites are the only safe-guard against unaccountable elites. Right-wing populists never cease to talk about our roots, while multiculturalists never stop talking about roots overseas. Save for that geographic detail, they are two branches of the politicalromantic tree. Right-wing populist parties prosper, but not despite anti-racist efforts, Goran Adamson argues, but as a result of them.
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| 10. |
- Laskar, Pia, et al.
(författare)
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Decolonising the Rainbow Flag
- 2016
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Ingår i: Culture Unbound. Journal of Current Cultural Research. - : Linkoping University Electronic Press. - 2000-1525. ; 8:3, s. 192-217
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of the article is to explore the location and the meaning given to the rainbow flag in places outside the hegemonic centre. Through three case studies in the global North and South, held together by a multi-ethnographic approach, as well as a certain theoretical tension between the rainbow flag as a boundary object and/or a floating signifier, we seek to study where the flag belongs, to whom it belongs, with particular focus on how. The three case studies, which are situated in a city in the Global South (Buenos Aires), in a conflict war zone in the Middle East (the West Bank) and in a racialised neighbourhood in the Global North (Sweden), share despite their diversity a peripheral location to hegemonic forms of knowledge production regimes. Central to our analysis is how the rainbow flag is given a multitude of original and radical different meanings that may challenge the colonial/Eurocentric notions which up to a certain extent are embedded in the rainbow flag.
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