Kerstin Jacobsson

The open method of co-ordination and new governance patterns in the EU

The aim of this article is to establish an analytical framework for studying the impact of the open method of co-ordination (OMC) on three levels of political action within the EU, namely the policy, politics and polity. First, the article examines the novelties of the OMC vis-à-vis the soft law tradition in the EU, and looks at how the three dominant logics of co-ordination are linked to diverse modes of the OMC. The subsequent sections focus on the potential impact of the OMC on the policy and politics dimensions of the EU. Theoretically inspired assumptions about policy learning and partial delegation of power are the driving forces behind the inquiry. The article then scrutinizes the potential constitutional dimension of the OMC. Finally, it discusses the theoretical challenges that the OMC poses for our understanding of the EU as a polity and the concept of integration.

Soft regulation and the subtle transformation of states: the case of EU employment policy

This article studies the soft regulation developed in the field of EU employment policy from the late 1990s onwards, a type of policy co-ordination that has been termed the ‘Open Method of Coordination’. It focuses on particular regulatory mechanisms, in the section entitled ‘Discursive regulatory mechanisms’, built into this ‘soft’ system of governance, which are related to language use and knowledge making. These include: joint language use (Eurodiscourse); the building of a common knowledge base (including collection and standardization of statistics); the strategic use of comparisons and evaluations; the systematic editing and diffusion of knowledge, combined with social pressure and time pressure. It is argued that these measures together constitute a systematic system of governance with the potential to transform the practices of the member states and thus add to the integration process, albeit by a partly different kind of dynamic than regulation and integration by hard law.

Post-Political Regulation: Soft Power and Post-Political Visions in Global Governance

The debate on global governance points to shifts in the type and nature of regulation as well as in the set of actors involved. The article introduces a novel way of conceptualizing the changes, namely a move towards post-political forms of regulation (see also Garsten and Jacobsson, 2007). Drawing on Chantal Mouffe’s notion of ‘the post-political vision’, the article argues that many contemporary forms of regulation are premised on consensual relationships as the basis for regulatory activity. These regulatory practices tend to narrow down the conflictual space, thereby exerting a form of soft power. Moreover, in the post-political forms of regulation, unequal power relations tend to be rendered invisible. The empirical cases discussed are voluntary regulatory arrangements, more specifically the Open Method of Coordination of the EU (OMC) and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives.

Emotion work in animal rights activism A moral-sociological perspective

Social movement activism requires emotional motivation and entails emotional costs, and, because of this, activists tend to be deeply involved in the management of emotions – or emotion work – and not just in connection with protest events, but also on an everyday basis. Based on a case study of animal rights activism in Sweden, this article identifies five types of emotion work that animal rights activists typically perform: containing, ventilation, ritualization, micro-shocking and normalization of guilt. The emotion work performed by activists, it is argued, is best understood from a moral-sociological perspective building on Durkheim’s sociology of morality, based on which the article then outlines key elements of a comprehensive theoretical framework for the study of emotion work in social movements.

Deliberative Transnationalism? Analysing the Role of Committee Interaction in Soft Co-ordination

The Treaty of Amsterdam defined employment policy as an area of common concern among the EU member states and provided a procedure for policy co-ordination based on cyclical processes, soft law, and peer review and pressure. Forms of governance based on other mechanisms of policy co-ordination than supranational law-making are emerging as increasingly important in the EU. This chapter investigates to what extent this type of soft governance is supportive of a deliberative mode of policy-making. (By focusing on interactions and socialisation effects within and across EU committees it complements the chapter by Meyer and Kunstein in this volume, who have explored the impact of policy co-ordination on public debates.)

Moral Reflexivity and Dramaturgical Action in Social Movement Activism: The Case of the Plowshares and Animal Rights Sweden

Drawing on Durkheims sociology of morality, which identifies ideals and norms as the key components of morality, this article outlines a theoretical model for understanding how social movements can bring about legitimate social change. Social movement activists, we propose, can be conceptualized as followers and pursuers of sacred ideals. As such, they frequently come into conflict with existing norms in society. To manage this dilemma, activists must downplay their role as norm breakers while emphasizing their identity as followers of ideals. This in turn requires moral reflexivity in the staging of collective action. The article shows how dramaturgical control (Goffman) is exercised towards this end among activists engaged in two social movements in Sweden: the Plowshares peace movement and Animal Rights Sweden. The article further examines the internal stratification, or ‘moral hierarchies’, within the two activist groups in the light of the proposed model. The closer the activists were able to adhere to the sacred ideal, the higher the social status they enjoyed within the group.

A Deviance Perspective on Social Movements: The Case of Animal Rights Activism

This article outlines a theoretical framework for understanding deviance and deviance-management in a social movement context. Such a deviance perspective is useful because in striving for social change, activists challenge existing social norms and may readily be defined by their environments as “outsiders” or deviants. However, activists also differ from traditional deviant groups. The article therefore conceptualizes activists as “entrepreneurial deviants,” combining features of both moral entrepreneurs and deviants in society, as presented in Howard Beckers classical theory. It is argued that in order to understand the strategies of deviance-management performed by activists, traditional notions of “passing,” “techniques of neutralization,” and “subculture” must be complemented by the concepts of “confronting,” “techniques of idealization,” and the forming of a “transformative subculture.” Empirically, the article builds on a case study of animal rights activism in Sweden and the ways in which the activists counter stereotypes, which is interpreted as a form of deviance-management.

After a Cycle of Contention: Post-Gothenburg Strategies of Left-Libertarian Activists in Sweden

This article considers the strategic choices that radical activists face when a cycle of contention ends. It investigates the reorientation of the autonomous anarchists or left-libertarian activist milieu in Sweden after the riots at the Gothenburg summit in 2001, which ended a cycle of anti-globalization protests in Sweden. The article identifies five strategies by which this activist milieu attempted to reconstruct collective agency, build a new alliance structure, and renew the repertoire of contention: (1) rescaling and targeting of micro-politics; (2) moving from secluded to open communities; (3) rethinking collective agency with the help of a new movement theory; (4) reversing dominant discourses and opening up discursive space; and (5) redefining militancy and shelving of violent confrontation. The study builds on activist interviews and ethnographic research in Stockholm and Malmö.

New Governance Structures in Employment Policy-Making: Loose Co-ordination in Action

The European Employment Strategy (EES) is, thus far, the most developed form of soft policy co-ordination in the EU. Employment policy co-ordination developed gradually during the 1990s (for a history, see Goetschy 1999). With the Treaty of Amsterdam it received a clear treaty base, including a specification of procedures and actor participation. Besides relying on the use of soft law acts, such as guidelines and recommendations, the strategy has some financial backing in the European Social Fund. Having been at work for more than six years, it is timely to make an assessment of the achievements of the EES.

LEVELS OF GLUTATHIONE AND GLUTATHIONE-METABOLIZING ENZYMES IN RAT LUNG

Publisher Summary This chapter describes an experiment for an analysis of the levels of glutathione and glutathione-metabolizing enzymes in rat lung. In the experiment, reduced glutathione was measured by reaction with 5,5′-dithiobis (DTNB) to give a compound that absorbs at 412 nm. The disadvantage of the DTNB method is its nonspecificity—the reagent will conjugate with thiols other than glutathione, which may be present in the tissue investigated. However, the possibility that DTNB gives values that are too high was checked by comparing the results obtained with this method to those obtained with a specific enzymatic assay for reduced glutathione based on the use of a glutathione-S transferase. No significant difference was found in the glutathione levels measured by the enzymatic and DTNB methods in the lung or in the liver. The glutathione reductase activity was measured by the standard spectrophotometric technique. It was found that the lung contains such large amounts of blood and such relatively small amounts of glutathione that a correction had to be made for the glutathione content in the blood. In untreated lungs, this correction was 50–75% of the total value obtained.