| 1. |
- Lundberg, Erik, 1980-
(författare)
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A pluralist state? : civil society organizations’ access to the Swedish policy process 1964-2009
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Including civil society organizations in the policy process is a distinctive trait of democratic governance. But, while being highly valuable from a democratic point of view, not all civil society organizations are represented in the policy process. This dissertation draws attention to the role of the government in shaping the representation of civil society organizations in the Swedish government consultation referred to as the ‘remiss procedure’. The overall aim is to increase empirical and theoretical understanding of civil society organizations’ access to the national Swedish policy process. Drawing on various empirical data sources, it analyzes how access has changed during the second half of the 20th century, the factors influencing access, and the significance of the access provided by the government.The results are based on four empirical studies, and show that the government has encouraged an increasing number and more diverse types of civil society organizations to be represented in the remiss procedure. In addition, organizations with plenty of resources, such as labor and business organizations, are not overrepresented. However, access is slightly skewed in favor of civil society organizations with an insider position within other access points at national government level, which is consistent with a privileged pluralistic pattern of interest representation. In addition, civil society organizations seem to be invited into an arena for political influence of less relevance. Theoretically, the dissertation moves beyond the neo-corporatist perspective that dominated Swedish research during the second half of the 20th century by drawing attention to five different theoretical lenses: pluralism, neo-corporatism, political opportunity structures, policy network theory, and resource exchange theory. It concludes that a variety of theories are needed for access to be understood.
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| 2. |
- Johansson, Anders, 1941-
(författare)
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Offentlig kultur i omvandling? : Om prestationsfinansiering och konkurrensutsättning av offentlig serviceverksamhet
- 2003
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this study is to examine whether introducing organisational ideas, first used within the private trade and industry sector, in public affairs will have any effect on public culture. In focus for this study are financing by results and exposure to competition, which are standards institutionalised in the environment of the public organisations. A result of the study is that the adoption of the standards financing by results and expo-sure to competition to a greater extent was based on a logic of appropriateness than on a logic of consequentiality. These very standards were considered the most appropriate and the obvious solution irrespective of how the problem was formulated. One reason for this might be that many other organisations already had introduced these standards, or were considering doing so. The adoption therefore gave legitimacy. The adaptation of the standards to the organisation’s previously adapted standards resulted in increased uncertainty in the operational situation. As a consequence, the way in which the formulation of needs was viewed changed. The outcome of the adaptation can be described as a transformation. It thus differs from the kinds of outcome that are most often described within institutional organisation theory, namely coupling, rejection, decoupling and translation. Common to these is the assumption that the adaptation essentially only affects the actual adopted standards; that they will either be integrated into the organisation without problem or be rejected or remoulded until they fit in. Transformation on the other hand implies that it instead is those standards that already have been adapted that will be transformed. The standards strong enough to achieve this are specifically geared towards resource mobilisation. Transformation tends in turn to result in a shift of the organisation culture, from being more hierarchical towards being more egalitarian or individualistic, in certain cases drawing towards fatalistic. The public culture that is presented in the Swedish constitutional laws and specific legislation can be described as egalitarian. To the public administration this culture is manifested through an administrative mission – considering everyone’s equality before the law and observing objectivity as well as impartiality – and an administrative-ethical mission – producing community values as opposed to private ones. The citizens’ personal notions of their needs (the demand) must be balanced against socially acknowledged needs, i.e. needs for those utilities that we together in a political process have agreed to help providing each other with. These utilities should be allocated based solely on the level of need. A conclusion of the study is that the transformation process can lead to strategical priorities that challenge the public culture’s administrative-legal as well as administrative-ethical mission. However, if the values of the public culture are not fulfilled, the citizens’ confidence in public affairs might be undermined.
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| 3. |
- Sundström, Göran, 1967-
(författare)
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Stat på villovägar : Resultatstyrningens framväxt i ett historisk-institutionellt perspektiv
- 2003
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- I avhandlingen diskuteras framväxten av den rationalistiska styrmodell - resultatstyrning - som i dag är tänkt att tillämpas i staten. Dels diskuteras denna politiska institutions historiska närvaro i staten. Den spåras tillbaka till den programbudgeteringen. Institutionen har visserligen förändrats under de nära fyrtio år som förflutit sedan programbudgeteringen introducerades i staten. Förändringarna har dock främst gällt tillämpningen av olika metoder och tekniker. Vad gäller tillkomsten av nya metoder och tekniker har stabiliteten varit betydligt större. Och beträffande de mer grundläggande idé- och tankemönster som konstituerar institutionen, och tillika dess grundläggande målsättningar, påvisar undersökningen mycket stor stabilitet. I avhandlingen görs också ett försök att förklara styrmodellens beständighet. Frågan aktualiseras av att lärandeprocessen har haltat i flera avseenden. Erfarenheter som vunnits i tidigare skeden av processen inte har utnyttjats i senare skeden, konkreta problem som iakttagits i utvärderingar har bara i begränsad utsträckning diskuterats och relaterats till föreslagna lösningar och resultat från försöksverksamheter har ofta inte inväntats. Kritiska diskussioner som pågått i de ansvariga aktörernas omvärld har också haft svårt att få genomslag. Händelseutvecklingen förklaras utifrån ett historisk-institutionellt perspektiv och olika teorier om byråkratins makt. Det görs gällande att olika initiala beslut som fattades kring 1960 skapade olika självförstärkande krafter, som kom att verka stabiliserande på den studerade institutionen. Tre sådana krafter diskuteras: För det första hävdas att besluten gav ansvariga organisationer, och personer inom dessa organisationer, incitament och möjligheter att vidmakthålla institutionen; det har legat i deras (egen)intresse att bevara och utveckla den. Genom att de tidigt fick starka positioner har de också kunnat verka för detta. Genom att organisera verksamhet och personer och genom att kontrollera information har aktörerna sett till att behålla kontrollen över institutionen. För det andra hävdas att utvecklingsarbetet under långa perioder, och som en följd av olika initiala beslut, har letts av små och sluta grupperingar bestående av personer från ett fåtal organisationer (främst budgetavdelningen, RRV och Statskontoret). Tendenser till grupptänkande har uppstått. Genom att främst diskutera internt sinsemellan, och genom att skärma av källor som hade kunnat ge information om alternativa perspektiv och handlingsalternativ, har personerna inom dessa grupperingar blivit alltmer övertygade om det riktiga i att bygga vidare på den studerade institutionen. För det tredje hävdas att en särskild profession i ett tidigt skede av processen, och som en följd av olika initiala beslut, tog ett fast grepp om händelseutvecklingen. Institutionen kom från början att kläs i en ekonomiteoretisk språkdräkt, som gjorde att en viss typ av experter blev särskilt efterfrågade inom ansvariga organisationer, och även i statsförvaltningen i övrigt. Ekonomiadministrationen kom på detta sätt successivt att byggas ut, med följden att det ekonomiadministrativa språkbruket fick ett än fastare och än vidare fotfäste i statförvaltningen, vilket i sin tur ytterligare stärkte ekonomiprofessionens grepp om utvecklingen. Dominansen av en särskild profession har försvårat nytänkande och medfört att samma lösningar tenderat att återkomma.
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| 4. |
- Sörbom, Adrienne, 1967-
(författare)
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Vart tar politiken vägen? : om individualisering, reflexivitet och görbarhet i det politiska engagemanget
- 2002
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this study is to provide a picture of how political commitments have changed in Sweden during the last five decades This is done by drawing on previous scholarship and theoretically interpreted life course interviews with individuals born in one of three decades, who were also members of one of two Swedish unions (CEU, The Swedish Commercial Employee Union and TU, the Swedish Teachers Union). The theoretical concepts individualization, reflexivity and makeability are used as analytical categories for the interpretations.In the dissertation it is shown that, to the interviewees, politics has increasingly become something that the individual is interested in taking active part in her- or himself. This altered perception is described in terms of a growing individualization of the political agent. Further, a growing reflexivity regarding political matters and methods can be detected, making it more difficult to know both what is the problem, and how one might act politically to make a difference. This development, towards an individualized political commitment in combination with the increasing reflexivity, is interpreted in terms of a growing political makeability. Politics has gradually come to be perceived by the interviewees as open for participation and questioning. This makeability is, however, ambiguous. On the one hand it is possible and necessary to act politically, on the other hand not much is being done. Also, several of the CEU members express a double feeling of being marginalized in a system in which everyone is in principle invited. Using everyday life as a way to participate in politics is one way out of this somewhat troubling situation. Both the interviewees from the CEU and the TU see environmental politics of the everyday life as an area where it is possible to contribute politically in a manner they consider necessary and efficient. This way, political commitments are partly moving away from the arena of social movements and political parties. Instead, daily life has become a more important political arena.
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