Patrik Hall

Is there a Nordic Approach to Questions of Democracy in Studies of Network Governance

Abstract The notion of democratic network governance has attracted growing interest among students of local and regional governance in all the Nordic countries since the 1990s. This article examines whether research in this area reflects a particular Nordic account of democracy. The Nordic countries have strong traditions of local autonomy, local networks and the inclusion of civil society associations. The authors find reason to expect that the Nordic traditions of local and regional governance may have stimulated a common approach to democracy questions with the features of an integrative perspective. At the same time, the differences in the history of democratisation are likely to have urged the approach in different directions. Using evidence from a literature review, the article suggests that, rather than a fully fledged theory, democracy with an intriguing potential and with nuances exists as an issue in the Nordic governance studies.

Quality Improvement Reforms, Technologies of Government, and Organizational Politics: The Case of a Swedish Women's Clinic

This article argues that quality-improvement reforms in health care are political reforms that aim to reconstruct organizational power relations. The argument is based on a case study of how a small womens clinic in Sweden subjected itself to a Total Quality Management-inspired process organization in order to win a quality award. The quality-improvement activities at the clinic seek to establish a centralized, communitarian organization without mediating powers in the form of professional hierarchies. However, they also stimulate professionalization of formerly subjugated groups in the health-care hierarchy. The analytical perspective of governmentality is used to illustrate how distant authorities and the clinic are related according to a new technology of government within health care, one goal of which is an intrusive form of organizational steering. The case study also shows the limitations of this perspective because the reforms trigger other micro-political activities that are seemingly not derived from the technology of government.

Throwing Discourses in the Garbage Can: The Case of Swedish ICT Policy

Abstract Swedish ICT policy has been characterised by abstract discourses which focus on dramatic transformations due to the coming of the “information society “. But Swedish ICT policy has also been characterised by decisions de‐coupled from the discourse, as well as fragile efforts towards implementation. This article analyses the linkage between discursive power and fragmented policy‐making in contemporary politics. A Kingdon‐inspired multiple streams framework is used for analysing the impact of discourses upon policy solutions, since other analytical strategies are too (implicitly) rational. In the case of Swedish ICT policy, it is shown that the visionary discourse of the information society strongly frames problems and solutions, but that the presence of contradictory discourses of steering makes it easier for decision makers to get rid of their own responsibility for practical actions through de‐coupling of rhetorical, organisational and decision‐making activities. The outcome is apolitical system where elite discourses mainly contribute to organisational identity‐building, and prospects for reconstructed organisational power among policy makers on different steering levels.

Advancing voluntary chemical governance? The case of the Swedish textile industry dialogue

Voluntary environmental governance is a widely used policy approach that has been criticized for its lack of effectiveness. This raises fundamental questions about how to design processes that can advance voluntary programmes in a way that makes them more successful. In this paper, we analyse a government-initiated dialogue process to phase out hazardous chemicals through voluntary action by the Swedish textile industry. The analysis shows that information transfer primarily motivated business participation, while consumer pressure, regulatory threats and traditions of government–business cooperation played minor roles. The institutional design of the dialogue ensured close interaction within a homogeneous group, but collective actions were limited by disagreement about the problems to be addressed, prior unilateral environmental commitments by leading companies, and ambivalent engagement. This case provides valuable insights into the effect of institutional design on the actual interplay between business and government and its effects on voluntary governance.

Innovation Policy as Performativity : the Case of Sweden

ABSTRACT This article analyzes how the idea of “innovationism” in Sweden has generated a new kind of idea-driven policy around the creation of innovative regional policy. In contrast to similar policies in this area, this policy does not manifest itself through traditional instruments, but evolves through symbolic and ritual performances, in particular through events and conferences. The article asks how this emerging idea has changed the existing institutional formation of sponsoring industrially relevant research. The vision of concerted action between decision-makers within modern innovationism reinforces territorial identity, but it also tends to devolve responsibility to the regional level since concerted action on the national level is hard to obtain. What emerges is a system of governing at a distance where different actors perform their roles according to often academic ideas of innovationism. The study is based on two qualitative studies in Sweden entailing both documentary sources and semi-structured interviews.