The Academic Profession in Swedish Higher Education: Continuity and Change inthe New Century

The purpose of this article is to describe the composition and internal stratificationof the university teaching staff at Swedish higher education institutions. We showthat four fault lines shape the higher education field in the 21st century. These are,firstly, the resource hierarchies both between old and new higher education institutionsand between the fields of science, and, secondly, the prestige hierarchybetween research and teaching staff categories and between the senior lecturers’conditions of existence in the center of the system and its periphery. We argue thatit is necessary to analyze how these stratification lines have come into place to understandhow they work and interact with each other, and how they have partially reinforcedeach other, but at the same time have left room for a transformation of theuniversity teachers’ conditions across the university system.

Constitutional Reform and the Reorganization of the National Audit Office

The Committee on Constitutional Reform was appointed by the government to conduct a review of the Swedish Constitution. This article focuses on the Constitution’s chapter on Parliamentary Control, i.e. instruments for monitoring government activities. The Committee’s discussion of this topic was limited and produced no real suggestions for reform. However, the parliament initiated a parallel reform aimed at the reorganization of the Swedish National Audit Office. The issue was investigated and decided upon, and the consequences of the reform were subsequently evaluated. The article points out that this way of organizing constitutional change is a typical of Swedish constitutional policy. Moreover, the changes have had greater constitutional implications for Parliamentary Control than has the work of the Committee on Constitutional Reform.

The Decollegialization of Higher Education Institutions – an Examination of Public Sector Higher Education Institutions in Sweden

This article surveys current management ideals of higher education institutions (HEIs), and our analytical focus is on the balance between line management and fac-ulty self-governance. We present an empirical study of evolving governance struc-tures including all 31 public sector HEIs in Sweden. The point of departure is the Autonomy Reform of 2011, which resulted in a deregulation of the Higher Education Act and a loss of constitutional support for collegial bodies. To assess the conse-quences of the reform, we have examined collegial bodies and academic leadership posts before and after the reform. Our findings show escalating line management in the appointment of academic leaders, a diluted role for collegial expertise, and a loss of decision-making authority for collegial bodies. Hence, the decollegialization of HEIs in Sweden. Our study contributes to the existing literature with an unusually comprehensive analysis of the consequences of new managerial ideals at the local institutional level.

The purpose of this article is to analyse the effects of New Public Management (NPM) reforms on three specific professional groups. From this investigation it is clear that the assumptions inherent in the NPM reforms have resulted in a clear breach of what we theoretically refer to as the professional contract between the state and the professions. We show in this analysis that our studied professional groups have lost central aspects of their professional autonomy. We problematize the perception that an ever-increasing demand for steering and control of professionals within the public sector should be perceived as something exclusively good. In addition to the costs of monitoring, the centrally important paradox of accountability should be taken into consideration, i.e. responsible interpretation and application of external accountability demands rest on the cultivation of the virtues that support good administrative judgement, the type of judgement that is threatened by the control-schemes presented in this article.

Våren 2021 tog riksdagen ställning till den elfte forskningspolitiska propositionen i ordningen, Forskning, frihet, framtid – kunskap och innovation för Sverige (prop. 2020/21:60). Bara genom att studera forskningspropositionernas rubriker kan man enkelt avläsa vilka primära mål sittande regering har med sin forskningspolitik. Förra gången det begav sig stod samverkan högst på agendan. På propositionens 167 sidor nämndes ”samverkan” hela 224 gånger, medan en konkurrent som ”frihet” i stort lyste med sin frånvaro och enbart nämndes sex gånger (prop. 2016/17:50). I den nu aktuella forskningspropositionen har emellertid ”frihet” getts en mer framträdande roll än någonsin tidigare – vilket även framgår av rubriken – och omnämns hela 141 gånger (”samverkan” är dock mer än dubbelt så vanligt) (prop. 2020/21:60). Skälet till att frihetsfrågan fått en så framträdande roll denna gång är förstås de förslag om att föra in akademisk frihet i högskolelagen som Styr- och resursutredningen presenterat i sitt betänkande (”Struten”, se SOU 2019:6). Men hur ska vi förstå denna politiska strävan efter att stärka den akademiska friheten? I detta specialnummer tar vi ett bredare grepp om hur högskolepolitiken utvecklats över tid, och frågar oss vad som utmärker denna frihet. Vem är det som ska ges frihet? Hur ser balansen mellan formell och reell frihet ut? Vad utmärker dem som skänks frihet – oftast lärosätena – och hur skiljer de sig åt?

Året innan riksdagsvalet 2014 publicerade oppositionsledaren Stefan Löfven debattartikeln ”Välfärdens yrken måste få sin frihet och status åter” (DN debatt 2013-11-15). Inlägget avslutades med: ”Med en socialdemokratisk regering kommer välfärden få större resurser, ett nytt regelverk som sätter människa framför vinst och en ny styrning som utgår från de välfärdsprofessionellas kompetens och yrkesetik.”2 Det är ovanligt för politikens främsta företrädare att så tydligt göra partipolitik av det som vi statsvetare benämner förvaltnings- politik, dvs. idéer och åtgärder riktade mot förvaltningens organisation och arbetssätt (Petersson & Söderlind 1993: 8). Men nu har det alltså skett. Redan en månad efter att socialdemokraterna och miljöpartiet bildat koalitionsregering efter valet 2014 utfärdades ett pressmeddelande från Finansdepartmentet med budskapet ”Ny styrning bortom New Public Management” (23 oktober 2014). Innebörden var sammanfattningsvis att åter ge välfärdens professioner möjlig- het att använda sitt professionella omdöme i sitt arbete, och att utveckla nya styrmodeller för den offentligt finansierade verksamheten (jfr prop. 2014/15:1: 53). Så ser den dagsaktuella förvaltningspolitiska diskussionen ut, och frågan är vad som döljer sig bakom dessa formuleringar. Vad är det i idéerna från New Public Management (NPM) som man vill komma bort ifrån? Kort sagt, vad är det som skapar politisk mobilisering i denna fråga? 

The purpose of the project is to describe and explain the introduction and the consequences of the current management model of the public sector (management by results) from a democratic theory perspective. Firstly, our aim is to disclose the norms and values that the present model is bearer of. A first step will be to unfold what kind of values that are rewarded in the present model, and thereby also calling the attention to what values that are neglected. A point of reference for this is Elster's "three-cornered dilemma" of constitutionalism, democracy, and efficiency. This analysis of conflicting values will be made on different administrative levels, since the implications are different depending on whether we focus on government steering or the conditions of the service deliverers on the local level. Secondly, we aim to answer the question on why the model was introduced in the first place, and if this process poses any democratic challenges. Our perspective is that the introduction of this model has had far reaching effects for the work of the executive branch, and thereby has had greater constitutional implications than is generally acknowledged. Yet, we also know from earlier research that the introduction of the model was not of great political interest, but is rather the product of a limited number of top civil servants. Simply put, how come that this one particular management model is adopted, and is allowed to dominate, although it has been so highly criticized?

The article’s purpose is to discuss causality in the social sciences. More specifically, causality as the relationship between the necessary and sufficient conditions in order to derive why A, B, C ... cause Z. Its empirical focus is the1934 Tärendö municipal election within which the Swedish Nazi party received 30.8 percent of the vote as compared to surrounding municipalities where it received less than 4 percent of the vote. Its analytical foci are the necessary and sufficient conditions behind a historical event, as refered to by the so-called INUS model, derived from a number of formal logical rules (above all the rule of contraposition). In Tärendö, in contrast to surrounding communities, a number of socially prominent people (the forester, doctor, priests and farmers) supported the Nazi message and there was no established social-democratic alternative, besides a communist party, and only weakened bourgeois partial alternatives that formed a defense against Nazism.

Since the 1990s, the Swedish school system has become increasingly more diversified. Decentralization, the introduction of private schools, the challenge of globalization & increased ethnic diversity among pupils have contributed to an increasing heterogeneity. This project analyses the prospects for civic education in different institutional settings & contexts, in both public & private schools. Using unique survey data 1999 & 2009 we ask which effects different institutional settings have on "citizen competences," i.e., civic engagement, political efficacy, knowledge about democracy & political issues, & democratic values & tolerance. The project breaks down into three distinct but interrelated parts. The first deals with changes over time in young Swedes' civic competences. The second subproject focuses on the way & consequences when controversial issues are taught in different schools & institutional settings. The third sub-project adds a comparative perspective by analyzing similarities & differences among young people & schools in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland & England. Adapted from the source document.

Institutional Settings and Civic Education: A Comparative Study of Different Types of Publicand Private Schools.

Since the 1990s, the Swedish school systemhas become increasingly more diversified. Decentralization, the introduction ofprivate schools, the challenge of globalization and increased ethnic diversity amongpupils have contributed to an increasingheterogeneity.

This project analyses the prospects for civiceducation in different institutional settings and contexts, in both public and private schools. Using unique survey data1999 and 2009 we ask which effects differentinstitutional settings have on ”citizen competences”, i.e. civic engagement, political efficacy, knowledge about democracy and political issues, and democratic values and tolerance.

The project breaks down into three distinct but interrelated parts. The first deals with changes over time in young Swedes' civic competences. The second subproject focuses on the way and consequences when controversial issues are taught in different schools and institutional settings. The third sub-project adds acomparative perspective by analyzing similarities and differences among young people and schools in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and England.

Modernist ideas were written into the building code of 1931 and increased over timewhere traditional cities were banned and supposed to be turned down. How managedmodernists this in the critical juncture. One of their proponents was StockholmsByggnadsförening, where builders, contractors and private and public plannersand architects meet. My questions are how modernist architects could imposethe views of Byggnadsföreningen and if their activities in this organization couldexplain why modernist ideas so fast could impose building code and legislation.I found that it was a self-amplifying process where central modernist architectsmanaged to reach leading positions after 1924 when the organization implementedshort periods for members of the board. This was preceded by a decline of the organizationduring WWI and a self-eroding process for ideas of traditional city-planningwhere modernist architects challenged them with effectivity-arguments thatclamed modernist ideas were scientific and traditional ideas outdated.

The first generation of students who started school after the large Swedish educationalreforms of decentralization and marketization in the 1990s is now enteringthe university. They have grown up in an individualized society, with a publicsector permeated by new public management ideals. The purpose of this articleis to discuss students' attitudes and approaches to studies, in the light of thesesocio-political changes, and to reflect on challenges and possibilities for teachingin higher education. With an empirical material consisting of correspondence withstudents and comments in course evaluations, we give examples of attitudes andbehaviours that can be understood as expressions of a rather demanding individualisticcustomer approach to education. We conclude by arguing that our teachingpractice must take these partly new circumstances into account. If we want tobecome better teachers, we must understand our students.

What is the added value of strategic theory in the understanding of Swedish securityand defence policies? By introducing a series of concepts that identify policiesthat are pursued in both peace and war such as escalation, deterrence, andweapons acquisition, we argue that strategic concepts contribute to the analysisof Swedish security policy mainly by highlighting forms of policy that do not conceptuallyrest upon the dichotomy of war and peace. Differently from mainstreamscholarly analysis that treats deterrence as one, uniform concept, we differentiatebetween four different logics of deterrence. Using this conceptual tool, we analyseSwedish policies in the 1950s and 2010s and discover that although Sweden pursueddeterrence during both this periods, her policies depend on a different logic. Bycomparison, 1950s Sweden understood to pursue deterrence understood as a wall,while 2010s Sweden understands the term in terms of a shield.

In this article portrayed experiences of former inmates that were placed in the concentration camps in the beginning of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1900s are being analyzed. The article is based on 13 interviews with former inmates and close relatives that currently live in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The purpose with the article is to describe the social interaction rituals that are being retold after a stay in concentration camps and also to identify how these interactions get dramatized symbolically. In addition, the moral that emerges in the description is analyzed. All the interviewed in the study describe themselves as victims. Throughout the narratives about crimes and encroachment in the camps the interviewed individual’s take distance from the actions of the guards and the category concentration camp- placed. Retelling violations and resistance rituals show that the space for individuality in the camps were toughly limited but a resistance and status rituals together with adaptation to the living conditions in the camps seems to have generated a space for enhanced individualization. To possess somewhat control and have the opportunity to provide resistance seems to give an emotion of honor and self-esteem to the camp prisoners, not only during but also after the time of war.

Spelteori har ofta kommit att användas för att analysera typiserade och ytterst generella frågeställningar om statens uppkomst, miljöförstöring, förutsättningarna för krig och fred, etc. Orsaken är kanske att en stiliserad teori uppfattas som mest lämpad för stiliserade frågeställningar. Även spelteorins vanligaste empiriska tillämpningsområde, internationella konflikter, anses ju av många - med rätt eller orätt - kännetecknas av relativt väldefinierade aktörer och entydiga mål. Mera sällan tycks spelteori ha använts för att analysera inrikespolitiska frågor. Sannolikt har de förenklingar som krävs ofta uppfattats som alltför grova för att göra rättvisa åt komplexa processer med ett vimmel av aktörer, flerdimensionella mål och odeciderade handlingsalternativ. Ett undantag är forskningsprogrammet "Politik som rationellt handlande" vid statsvetenskapliga institutionen i Uppsala, där spelteori användes som en av flera metoder för att analysera politiskt beslutsfattande. Som utvecklas i det följande menar jag dock att man i dessa studier inte fullt ut utnyttjat spelteorins möjligheter. Denna uppsats har två syften. Det första är att bidra till utvecklingen av en spelteori för parlamentariska spel. Jag försöker göra det genom att visa på hur beslutsfattare, handlingar, ståndpunkter och argument i den parlamentariska processen kan översättas till spelteorins komponenter, dvs aktörer, handlingsalternativ, utfall och nyttovärden. Det andra syftet är att med hjälp av spelteori jämföra två parlamentariska beslut, nämligen beslutet om medbestämmandelagen 1976 och beslutet om löntagarfonderna 1983. Denna jämförelse kan samtidigt ses som ett test på hur väl jag lyckats uppfylla mitt första syfte. Hypotesen för jämförelsen är att förändringar i de politiska partiernas inställning till facket mellan de båda tidpunkterna lett till skillnader mellan de båda spelen. Denna hypotes prövas i tre steg. Först formulerar jag de båda beslutsprocesserna i sådana spelteoretiska termer att en jämförelse blir möjlig. Därefter genomför jag jämförelsen - och kan konstatera vissa intressanta skillnader. Slutligen diskuterar jag några alternativa orsaker till dessa skillnader. Det visar sig att ingen av dessa ger en bättre förklaring än hypotesen om förändrad inställning till facket.

This article studies perceptions of governance, trust and threats among local politicians and local civil servants responsible for Swedish crisis management and civil defence. Local politicians and civil servants have key roles in the ongoing development of Swedish civil defence, as implementation to a large extent builds on the crisis management capacity of the municipalities. The article argues that the practitioners on the local level function in a context characterized by uncertain and ambiguous governance structures and especially local civil servants assume a role akin to that of street-level bureaucrats. Uncertain and ambiguous preconditions increase the importance of trust both between levels and within the same level of governance. Based on a survey with 209 local politicians and civil servants we study percep-tions of governance, trust, and threats. The results confirm perceptions of uncertain and ambiguous governance structures within the planning for and development of civil defence. The respondents ascribe higher responsibility to local, regional and national public actors when planning for civil defence, compared to the responsibility of citizens, the private sector and the EU level. The results also show high variations regarding levels of trust in the civil preparedness of different actors. Still, the experiences from the Covid 19-pandemic have increased the trust in the preparedness of almost all actors. Perceptions of threats relate to concrete threats like disruption in supply of food, electricity and internet. Notably, the highest threat perceptions concern activities aiming to destabilize democracy.

Denna recension sönderfaller i tre delar. I en första del sammanfattar jag i resonerande form avhandlingens huvudinnehåll och slutsatser. Den andra delen innehåller ett antal kommentarer, frågor och invändningar. I den tredje, avslutande, sektionen sammanfattar jag de positiva och negativa intrycken.

Egoism, group loyalty and corruption in Swedish local politics: Lessons from game theory and experimental social science

Recent advances in game theory and experimental social science provide insights for the study of corruption and abuse of power in local politics. We survey the evidence from theoretical and experimental research and illustrate findings and problems with two examples from a survey among local politicians and officials in Sweden. The most simplified theoretical models, such as the prisoner’s dilemma, fail to capture the distinction between group loyal behavior at different levels. There are several grey zones between pro-social behavior and corruption. These grey zones can be considered corruption danger zones. While Sweden is typically seen as a non-corrupt society, there are several situations where local politicians and officials must make choices in these corruption danger zones. Both formal institutions and informal norms influence these choices, and the views among politicians can vary substantially regarding what behavior is considered acceptable. Communication, openness and public debate can help the fight against corruption.