Depoliticising the political : Market solutions and the retreat of Swedish institutional drug treatment from state management

• Background: This article examines developments in the Swedish drug treatment services in 1982-2000 and explores the ways in which political initiatives and the state administration's management have contributed to the major privatisations of institutional drug treatment during this period. Methods: The empirical basis for the textual analysis lies in official reports, parliamentary material and archived records from the Stockholm County Administrative Board's management of treatment facilities. Results: The major privatisations of drug treatment services in the 1980s were both unintentional and unwanted and mainly arose from a lack of bureaucratic control and ideological anchorage. The privatisations were, however, reinforced by ideologically driven NPM-oriented political initiatives in the 1990s. Conclusion: The market-oriented treatment services have failed to fulfil the needs for diversity and availability within a publicly financed sector, which deals with unevenly informed and often socio-economically weak citizens. New management models in this field must ensure that ideological considerations are taken into account to meet politically decided goals and means.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Statsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Political Science (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Sweden

Drug treatment

Privatisation

Depoliticisation

NPM

Governance

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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