1. |
- Baxter, Megan K, et al.
(author)
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The Paradox of Elites in Civil Society: A Comparative Study on Civil Society Leaders’ Satisfaction with Democracy in the UK and Sweden
- 2024
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In: VOLUNTAS - International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. - 0957-8765.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The presence of an elite group in civil society elicits a discursive friction between the long-standing normative understanding of civil society, acting as a check on government overreach and autocratic tendencies, and elite theories. Robert Michels’s iron law of oligarchy posits that as individuals rise in the ranks to become organizational leaders, they begin to take on elite attributes, and their priorities align with those of other elites and away from those of their constituents. Michels’s argument echoes with today’s populist anti-elitist rhetoric and the way populism rejects any intermediary bodies between the people and the political leaders, including interest organizations in civil society. As an attempt to empirically probe this theoretical tension, this paper explores satisfaction with the way democracy is working among the top-level leaders of the most well-resourced national-level civil society organizations in Sweden and in the UK, drawing on a survey study conducted in 2020–21.
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2. |
- Buchs, Milena, et al.
(author)
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Sustainable Welfare: Decoupling Welfare from Growth and Prioritising Needs Satisfaction for All
- 2024
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In: De Gruyter Handbook of Degrowth. - Berlin; Boston : De Gruyter. - 9783110778359 - 9783110778038 ; , s. 89-104
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Welfare capitalism has developed in the context of rapidly expanding, fossil fuel-driven industrial economies. Faced with the urgent need for systematic changes of economic systems so that they stay within planetary limits, decoupling welfare from economic growth is an important task. This chapter introduces the concept of sustainable welfare, referring to welfare systems that prioritise the satisfaction of human needs within planetary boundaries. Rather than aligning with the growth imperative through income protection schemes for the socio-economically marginalised and investments in human capital equipped for globalised and competitive economies, sustainable welfare states would prioritise eco-social policies, aiming at basic needs satisfaction for all, limiting excessive consumption behaviours and restricting income and wealth inequalities that have been exacerbated in recent decades. The chapter discusses the ways in which the mutual dependency between welfare systems and economic growth can be decreased by addressing the work and welfare nexus, shifting funding sources for welfare systems, strengthening preventive functions of welfare and redefining the chief goal of welfare systems as sustainable needs satisfaction for all. The chapter further discusses how the governance of this transition process to sustainable welfare can be envisioned, where multi-level governance models and deliberative processes will play a crucial role.
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3. |
- Ennerberg, Elin, et al.
(author)
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Parternas omställningsorganisationer i det nya arbetsmarknadspolitiska landskapet
- 2024
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In: Arbetsmarknad & Arbetsliv. - Karlstad : Karlstads universitet. - 1400-9692 .- 2002-343X. ; 30:1, s. 6-24
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genom reformeringen av arbetsrätten som trädde i kraft under 2022 har reglerna vid uppsägning blivit mer flexibla. Samtidigt stärktes individers möjligheterför att få omställningsstöd och kompetensutveckling via parternas förnyade omställningsavtal och omställningsorganisationer, samt genom det nya statliga omställningsstudiestödet. Omställningsorganisationerna har därmed fått ett utökat uppdrag inom arbetsmarknadspolitiken och deras roll har blivit synligare och mer institutionaliserad. Trots det finns det knappa kunskaper om vilka organisatoriska förutsättningar och konkreta arbetssätt de utgår ifrån.Genom en dokumentanalys kartlägger vi hur omställningsorganisationerna är organiserade och vilka typer av privata aktörer som anlitas av dem.
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4. |
- Ennerberg, Elin, et al.
(author)
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Parternas omställningsorganisationer i det nya arbetsmarknadspolitiska landskapet: mot en kollektiv kompetensbildningsregim eller frammarsch av marknadsaktörer?
- 2024
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In: Arbetsmarknad & Arbetsliv. - 1400-9692. ; 30
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genom reformeringen av arbetsrätten som trädde i kraft under 2022 har reglerna vid uppsägning blivit mer flexibla. Samtidigt stärktes individers möjligheter för att få omställningsstöd och kompetensutveckling via parternas förnyade omställningsavtal och omställningsorganisationer, samt genom det nya statliga omställningsstudiestödet. Omställningsorganisationerna har därmed fått ett utökat uppdrag inom arbetsmarknadspolitiken och deras roll har blivit synligare och mer institutionaliserad. Trots det finns det knappa kunskaper om vilka organisatoriska förutsättningar och konkreta arbetssätt de utgår ifrån. Genom en dokumentanalys kartlägger vi hur omställningsorganisationerna är organiserade och vilka typer av privata aktörer som anlitas av dem.
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5. |
- Fritz, Martin, et al.
(author)
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Introduction to the special issue: Tackling inequality and providing sustainable welfare through eco-social policies
- 2023
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In: European Journal of Social Security (EJSS). - 1388-2627 .- 2399-2948. ; 25:4, s. 315-327
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- We are increasingly witnessing the social and ecological crises of our time becoming entangled and amplifying each other. The current policy responses from national states and international governance bodies remain within the dominant framework of economic growth-centred strategies. In this editorial, we argue that a new paradigm of sustainable welfare is needed, which includes eco-social policies addressing social and ecological sustainability concerns in integrated ways. We first demonstrate how social and ecological problems are interconnected and why green growth approaches fail to tackle them. As an alternative, and as a pointer to a social security system that can help people navigate the dire straits of increasing eco-social risks, we present the foundations and principles of sustainable welfare, and discuss how this, according to Kuhn, can be understood as a new social policy paradigm. In the second part of this editorial, we introduce the papers brought together in this special issue. The cutting-edge research of the contributing authors includes theoretical and conceptual advances, empirical case studies from different European countries, and transnational studies. Each paper discusses the implications of its findings for European social security systems.
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6. |
- Koch, Max, et al.
(author)
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Slutrapport: Hållbar välfärd för den nya generationens socialpolitik
- 2023
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Vårt samhälle står inför dubbla utmaningar vad gäller att ställa om till mer hållbar energi- och resursförbruking, och mer hållbara ekonomiska och sociala system, inklusive att minska växande ojämlikheter. För att nå Sveriges klimatmål samt Agenda 2030-målen måste resurs- och energiförbrukningen signifikant reduceras. Samtidigt finns det väldigt lite evidens för att denna reducering kan lyckas i en kontext av ekonomisk tillväxt (Parrique et al 2019; Hickel & Kallis 2020; Haberl et al 2021).Målet med projektet har varit att utveckla nya generationens socialpolitik inom en posttillväxtkontext som är både socialt och ekologiskt hållbar, med särskilt fokus på kombinationen av expertkunskap och medborgares praxiskunskap. Vi tog avstamp i begreppet hållbar välfärd samt teorier om behov, vilka betonarallmänmänskliga behov, samtidigt som kulturellt och socialt varierandebehovstillfredställare i förhållande till kontext tas i beaktande. Genom attkombinera medborgarforum, enkätstudie och expertforum, har vi reflekterat över vårt nuvarande sätt att tillfredsställa våra behov och utvecklat en rad nyabehovstillfredställare som kan möjliggöra en skälig nivå av välbefinnandesamtidigt som planetens gränser respekteras och resurs- och energianvändningminskas. Projektet ledde till nya kunskaper om hur den svenska befolkningenresonerar kring hållbar behovstillfredställande inom planetära gränser. Projektethar även undersökt allmänhetens stöd för ekosociala policyåtgärder som föreslogs av medborgarforumen inom fyra områden: arbetsliv/inkomstdistribution, kost, mobilitet och boende.
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7. |
- Koch, Max, et al.
(author)
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Structural barriers to sufficiency: the contribution of research on elites
- 2024
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In: Buildings and Cities. - 2632-6655. ; 5:1, s. 268-282
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ‘Sufficiency’ has become a key term within sustainability science. The satisfaction of basic human needs for all and for multiple generations is only possible if coupled to the implementation of ecological ceilings that prevent wealthy groups from disproportionate production and consumption patterns and energy use. While much sufficiency research has focused on the poor and how to provide corresponding social floors (i.e. an adequate level of sufficiency), this conceptual paper theorises structural barriers to implementing ecological ceilings for production and consumption by considering research on elites. The argument is illustrated with examples from urban spaces that are increasingly structured to accommodate the preferences of economic elites. A better scholarly understanding of the structural barriers to sufficiency dissemination can be facilitated through a systematic account of the political, social and symbolic strategies deployed by elites to accumulate and legitimise power. Conversely, a consideration of sufficiency principles would also be beneficial for research on elites, which has so far focused on social inequality and sidelined the ecological crisis. The discussion highlights how research on sufficiency and elite consumption may interact to be mutually beneficial. A research agenda is proposed to understand economic elites as barriers to the dissemination of sufficiency principles.
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8. |
- Koch, Max, et al.
(author)
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Towards a New Generation of Social Policy: Commonalities between Sustainable Welfare and the IPCC
- 2023
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In: Politiche Sociali. - 2284-2098 .- 2531-6389. ; 1:27-42
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The climate crisis calls for a new generation of social policy compatible with planetary limits and economic postgrowth circumstances. This article analyses how some of the pillars of such a new generation of social policy may be conceptualized by highlighting commonalities between the most recent IPCC report and the sustainable welfare literature. Methodologically triangulating content analysis of the IPCC report, literature review and qualitative data analysis from citizen forums, we argue that this convergence is particularly evident in four areas central to policymaking: the importance of human needs in eco-social policymaking; the identification of governance structures suitable for a social-ecological transformation; the requirement to co-develop policies via a deliberative, «bottom-up» element; and the need to decouple welfare provision from economic growth.
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9. |
- Lee, Jayeon, 1986, et al.
(author)
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Civil society ethos? Attitude differences between civil society elites and the population in Sweden
- 2024
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In: Acta Sociologica. - 0001-6993 .- 1502-3869.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous studies have found that elites differ from the general population not only in terms of their demographic and social composition but also with respect to policy preferences and attitudes. When it comes to civil society organisations, the issue of representation and representativeness of top-level leadership is of particular relevance, since a small number of individuals are expected to act on behalf of groups and causes that are not well acknowledged or even suppressed by other societal actors. Using two survey studies, this study compares the demographic composition and attitudes of the top-level leaders of the most resourceful civil society organisations in Sweden with those of the general population. We find that civil society elites are not demographically representative of the general population and that they also differ in attitudes when it comes to levels of trust, political orientations, satisfaction with democracy, and acceptance of income inequality. What is more interesting, however, is that the differences in attitudes cannot be fully explained by the skewed demographic characteristics of the civil society leaders, indicating that there might be distinctive sets of values and attitudes underpinning a ‘civil society ethos’.
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10. |
- Lee, Jayeon, et al.
(author)
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Civil society ethos? : Attitude differences between civil society elites and the population in Sweden
-
In: Acta Sociologica. - 1502-3869.
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous studies have found that elites differ from the general population not only in terms of their demographic and social composition but also with respect to policy preferences and attitudes. When it comes to civil society organisations, the issue of representation and representativeness of top-level leadership is of particular relevance, since a small number of individuals are expected to act on behalf of groups and causes that are not well acknowledged or even suppressed by other societal actors. Using two survey studies, this study compares the demographic composition and attitudes of the top-level leaders of the most resourceful civil society organisations in Sweden with those of the general population. We find that civil society elites are not demographically representative of the general population and that they also differ in attitudes when it comes to levels of trust, political orientations, satisfaction with democracy, and acceptance of income inequality. What is more interesting, however, is that the differences in attitudes cannot be fully explained by the skewed demographic characteristics of the civil society leaders, indicating that there might be distinctive sets of values and attitudes underpinning a ‘civil society ethos’.
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