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- Sjögren, Fredrik
(författare)
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Den förhandlade makten : Kulturella värdekonflikter i den svenska skolan
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation argues that, in order to understand how teachers in compulsory Swedish schools deal with what they regard to be cultural value conflicts, an important aspect is negotiations about d... merefinitions between teachers, pupils and parents, this directing focus towards power relations in the actual schools rather than formal decision making procedures. The aim is to elaborate a theory on the foundation of power theories that provides an understanding of the negotiation process and its effects in relation to cultural value conflicts. In relation to the four faces of power (decision making, agenda setting, preference shaping, and Foucauldian power analytics) the dissertation views the first three aspects as the force that makes the negotiation come about. For analyzing the actual power structure of the negotiation as well as the effects of the negotiation, it relies on a Foucauldian perspective. The dissertation views the process when the definitions come about as a framing process, but connected to a Foucauldian perspective rather than an agenda setting perspective. It therefore focuses on normalization and disciplinarian processes. The dissertation identifies five different frames in earlier research: individual sphere, public sphere, religious sphere, sexuality and gender sphere, and science sphere. It is argued that those spheres are abstract entities that provide particularities with a meaning by including them in existing story lines. By doing so, they also provide possible solutions, point out individuals or groups as authorities, and decide the hierarchy of ethical and normative goals. It is further argued that, in order to understand the negotiation, insights into the overall context of Swedish schools are important, and especially the structures vertical autonomy (the teacher's dependence on the state), horizontal autonomy (the teacher's dependence on parents and pupils), teacher role, and ideas about cultural diversity and ethnicity. Long semi structured interviews have been made with a total of 39 teachers from four different schools. Three different types of questions are studied: societal value questions (as democratic values and opinions on sexuality), knowledge questions and questions about pupils´ behaviour in classroom. The findings show that there is no hegemonic discourse in Swedish schools regarding the issues studied; similar questions are frequently framed differently by different teachers and on different schools. The findings of the empirical study further indicate that many negotiations ends up with the individual frame (this is the case for all three different types of questions). It is argued that this individualization reduces potential conflicts and is therefore preferred when the actors want to connect a question to different speheres. It is also argued that the results of the framing depends on power relations: if there is a societal consensus about a phenomenon (e.g. democracy), teachers are more reluctant to frame it as an individual question. If there is no such consensus (e.g. opinions on homosexuality) the teachers are more prone to direct it to the individual sphere.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Klas, 1975
(författare)
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Deliberativ undervisning – en empirisk studie
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Since the early 2000s, the deliberative turn in democratic theory has influenced the debate on teaching. The proponents of deliberation in education have argued that deliberative teaching both enhances subject knowledge and democratic citizenship among students. In Sweden, both policymakers and scholars have argued for more deliberative teaching in the Swedish education system. However, there is little empirical support for the assumption that deliberative teaching enhances knowledge and democratic citizenship among students. The aim of the thesis is to empirically test this assumption. The study consists of four field experiments where deliberative teaching is carried out in a Swedish upper secondary school civic course, Samhällskunskap A. In the field experiments the theoretical ideal of deliberative teaching is put into practice. Field experiments are conducted in three different upper secondary school programs, one preparing for ensuing studies and two so-called vocational programs (one female-dominated and one male-dominated). The study also includes a field experiment in an adult education program. The four field experiments are carried out in the same way using two classes in the same school, one with deliberative and one with non-deliberative teaching. After the course the students’ knowledge and democratic values are compared. A total of 274 students and 9 teachers participated in the field experiments. The results can be summarized as follows: Deliberative teaching is sometimes more but never less productive compared to the alternative non-deliberative teaching. The results show that students in vocational programs in the upper secondary school seem to be the ones most favoured by deliberative teaching. Students in vocational programs that participated in deliberative teaching increased their knowledge, thoughtful opinions, political efficacy, readiness for political participation and conversation skills more than students that had non-deliberative teaching. No such effects are present among students in the program preparing for ensuing studies. The results show that there is potential in deliberative teaching but the results does not support the assumption made in the theoretical deliberative teaching literature assuming a general positive effect of deliberative teaching on knowledge and democratic values among all students.
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| 3. |
- Boräng, Frida, 1977
(författare)
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National Institutions - International Migration. Labour Markets, Welfare States and Immigration Policy
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- All advanced capitalist countries admit entry to some immigrants and refuse entry to others. Despite the fact that all these countries accept some, but not all, potential immigrants, the variation when it comes to the admission of foreigners – or immigration policy – is still considerable. Policies and practices range from active invitation or legal admission to mere tolerance or outright rejection of the people that wish to enter these countries. This study sheds light on some aspects of this variation in policies and practices by developing and testing an institutional explanation for immigration admission. A central point of departure for the study is that in order to understand variation in immigration patterns, we need to pay attention to, and develop different explanations for, different types of immigration. Building on a comprehensive literature of labour markets and immigration, the study first suggests that institutional arrangements in the labour market matter for the relative importance of labour immigration to a country. More specifically, using data over yearly admissions of labour immigrants in a quantitative analysis, the study shows that labour immigration tend to be more important in economies with liberal labour market institutions than in more regulated labour markets. Using public opinion data, the study further shows that perceptions of immigrants tend to differ between labour market contexts. Drawing on theories from the comparative welfare state literature the study then suggests that generous and universal welfare state institutions, through their effects on norms and values, will have a positive impact on the intake of forced immigrants – that is, refugees and asylum seekers. This hypothesis is supported by a quantitative analysis using data over yearly admissions of forced immigrants. Analyses of public opinion data, official documents and secondary sources further lend support to the suggested causal mechanism. The overall conclusion is that these national institutions do matter for immigration policies, although their impact has to some extent weakened over time.
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| 4. |
- Cornell, Agnes, 1981
(författare)
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Institutional Impediments and Reluctant Actors –The Limited Role of Democracy Aid in Democratic Development
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Poverty reduction and societal modernization have traditionally been the main goals for development aid but increasingly, since the early 1990s, democracy and human rights have ascended in importance and democracy aid has been growing steadily, both in total amounts and as a share of the total aid package. This dissertation contributes to the understanding of the role of democracy aid in democratic development. It includes four papers, three of which analyze the role of democracy aid in democratic development and a fourth one which develops why, and tests whether, a meritocratic-based administrative structure is important for democratic survival and therefore a key aspect to take into consideration for future efforts of promoting democracy. The first two papers of this dissertation show that democracy aid may have positive effects on democracy levels and regime change but that the effects are limited to certain contexts: when recipient rulers perceive that they have more to gain than to lose from implementing democracy aid activities. Democracy aid only has a positive effect on democracy levels in one-party regimes and in preventing democratic breakdown in existing democracies. Democracy aid does not contribute to democratization in authoritarian regimes. The third paper develops a theoretical framework for understanding why democracy aid could be difficult to implement in democracies with unstable bureaucracies and, in particular, in bureaucracies where this instability is due to a high rate of turnover caused by political appointments. The fourth paper shows that democracies with meritocratic types of bureaucracies survive longer than democracies with patronage-based administrations. The main joint conclusion is that democracy aid may alter things on the margin but only under some fruitful conditions when donors’ and recipients’ interests coincide. In other circumstances institutional impediments and reluctant actors are likely to limit the role of democracy aid in democratic development. Moreover, the fruitful conditions imply political stability; therefore the prospects of radical change, as a result of aid projects, are small. This is a paradoxical conclusion given that the very aim of democracy aid is rather to promote political change than the status quo. The research design is mainly oriented towards performing large N empirical tests of hypotheses (Papers I, II, and IV) but it also includes more qualitative accounts on how theoretical mechanisms play out in practice, both based on field interviews (Paper III) and historical examples (Paper IV). This empirical contribution, in comparison to previous research on democracy aid, broadens the analytical scope in terms of time frame, and the recipients and donors included. The qualitative accounts, on the other hand, explore mechanisms not studied previously in relation to the novel hypotheses developed in this dissertation.
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| 7. |
- Harring, Niklas, 1979
(författare)
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The Multiple Dilemmas of Environmental Protection - The Effects of Generalized and Political Trust on the Acceptance of Environmental Policy Instruments
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- With different environmental policy instruments (EPIs) that target individual citizens, the state can change activities or behaviors that have negative environmental consequences. However, EPIs are not likely to be implemented or have the intended effects unless people support these policies since a lack of support may affect willingness to comply, and politicians may not even introduce them due to the risk of loss in electoral support. Previous studies have suggested that political and generalized trust are important explanatory factors in EPI support. On an individual level and at least in some contexts, investigations have found that political and generalized trust generate more positive attitudes and higher acceptance of EPIs. There is, however, a lack of comparative studies. The effects of political and generalized trust on EPI support are investigated in this thesis by studying cross-national differences in EPI preference. By using a comparative design, it is possible to study not only perceptions of whether public institutions are trustworthy and whether we find those effects in different countries, but also the effects of living in a society with more or less effective or corrupt public institutions. It is suggested that people support different kinds of EPIs in different contexts. The data used are three international surveys and a Swedish mail survey. The results suggest several effects of trust on preferences for policies. One could be described as the coercion effect, where people with low trust choose more coercive policies in order to punish defectors; the second is the bureaucratic discretion effect, where people accept certain kinds of policies (typically economic instruments) only when the bureaucracy has a potential to deliver; third is an effect of trust in others, for people who do not trust others are not likely to choose certain policies when the risk of free-riding is high; and fourth is an indirect effect, for trust affects people’s willingness to perform environmental action, which in turn affects policy preferences. In conclusion, as political and generalized trust are important explanatory factors in EPI support, we should expect the potential for such policy instruments to vary quite significantly across countries.
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| 8. |
- Hyrén, Johan, 1970
(författare)
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Självskapelseetik bortom Foucault: En rättviseteori för ett mångkulturellt, liberalt och demokratiskt samhälle
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- I Självskapelseetik bortom Foucault utvecklas en rättviseteori för ett mångkulturellt, liberalt och demokratiskt samhälle. Utgångspunkt tas i Foucaults arbeten om etik och då framförallt i begreppet subjektivation. Självskapelseetikens grundläggande princip säger att ett rättvist samhälle karaktäriseras av att medborgarna åtnjuter lika goda möjligheter till aktiv subjektivation. Begreppet aktiv subjektivation kan enklast förstås i relation till dess motsats, passiv subjektivation. Det senare refererar till en identitetskonstruktion som passivt låtit sig formas av de externa maktrelationernas präglande kraft, medan det förra relaterar till en identitet skapad genom subjektets medvetna arbete på sig själv. Självskapelseetikens normativa telos är subjekt fria från både kulturens och passionernas slaveri. Avhandlingen är uppdelad i tre delar. Den första behandlar Foucaults etik och utreder bland annat hur denna relaterar till dess antika förlagor. I denna del utvecklas också en kritik av Foucault som tydliggör behovet av att överskrida dennes teoretiska ramverk. I del två utvecklas subjektivationsteorin och en ny självskapelseetisk rättviseteori utmejslas och försvaras. Den tredje delen ägnas åt frågan om grupprättigheter och utbildningens organisation och syftet är att explicitgöra hur en stat som affirmerar självskapelseetiken bör förhålla sig till dessa frågor. Tre principer identifieras. Kunskapsprincipen: rättigheter som ökar individens kunskap om den kulturella präglingen bör affirmeras (eftersom vi inte på ett meningsfullt vis kan överskrida det vi inte känner). Särartsprincipen: rättigheter som möjliggör förkroppsligandet av ett unikt vara bör erkännas. Förbudsprincipen: ställer krav på ”intern liberalism” och fastställer att inga rättigheter som riskerar att minska individens möjligheter till aktiv subjektivation kan erkännas. Religiöst och kulturellt betingade skolor bör, i enlighet med kunskapsprincipen, uppmuntras i det inledande stadiet av det obligatoriska skolväsendet, medan segregerade skolor inte bör tillåtas längre upp i detta skolsystem. För att möjliggöra lika goda möjligheter till aktiv subjektivation är tillgång till perspektiv från vilken den egna kulturella präglingen kan medvetandegöras viktig. Detta uppnås bäst i en gemensam skolform.
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| 9. |
- Nilsson, Marco, 1971
(författare)
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War and Unreason. Bounded Learning Theory and War Duration
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Why are some wars longer than others? Offense-defense theorists have assumed that wars are shorter and it is more difficult for states to create security when military technology favors the offense and attacking is easier than defending. This study argues that this assumption is wrong on both accounts. First, statistical hazards models show that various measures of the offense-defense balance are not associated with war duration in the state system between 1817 and 1992. Second, if wars are not shorter when offense is dominant, there should not be more rational incentives for decision-makers to start wars when offense has the advantage compared to when defending is relatively easier. The study develops the bounded learning theory to better understand the causes of war duration and tests it with four case studies. The theory argues that offense dominance is often so limited that it fails to guarantee that the enemy is swiftly run over, other things being equal. As a swift victory does not materialize with the help of offensive military technology and tactics, the process of finding a mutually acceptable negotiated solution to the war easily becomes long because of asymmetric information about expected offensive capacity and expansive ideology (asymmetric causal beliefs and offensive stakes). These variables make it unlikely that the combatants would quickly adjust their war aims so that they reflect their actual battlefield performance. As the combatants do not learn from the battlefield events, they cannot agree on their expected relative strength, which is necessary from a rational choice perspective for finding common ground for a peace treaty. Offense-defense theory specifies defense dominance as the prerequisite for more peaceful interstate relations. On the other hand, defense dominance is difficult to create as the realist self-help logic drives many states to continue developing offensive weapons technology. Furthermore, by assuming that wars are shorter during offense dominant eras, the offensedefense theory creates false incentives for aggression. It is common sense that the risk of war does not increase when defense is dominant. However, even when attacking is relatively easier than defending, incentives for aggression should not increase on average if wars are not particularly short. Thus the study is a contribution to defensive realism.
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