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[From clash of interests to symbiosis? Environmental policy and welfare in times of economic boom and recession]Global challenges such as climate change, the free flow of international capital, and growing political transnational cooperation, together with two major financial crises, have put pressure on the national welfare state during recent decades. During the same period, the concepts of sustainable development and ecological modernization have contributed with an understanding of economic growth and environmental awareness as complementary. In that context, Karin Edberg's article discusses whether environmental policy can be said to be part of the modern Swedish welfare state. Edberg makes use of the annual inaugural speeches given by the prime minister in connection with the opening of the Swedish parliament. This implies that the article's results rather than reflecting political practice points at issues of political interest and their articulation. Edberg shows how environmental questions have fluctuated between being a de-ideologized and normalized part of the political landscape, and a political watershed. Today, the idea of sustainable development is the glue that connects environmental policies with the welfare state – at least on a rhetorical level – and which makes the environment a consensus issue.Publication history: Published original.(Published 7 October 2016)Citation: Edberg, Karin (2016) "Från motsatsförhållande till symbios? Miljöpolitik och välfärd i ekonomiska upp- och nedgångar", in Arkiv. Tidskrift för samhällsanalys, issue 6, pp. 7–37. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13068/2000-6217.6.1 ; Globala utmaningar som klimatförändringar, transnationella kapitalrörelser och politiskt gränsöverskridande samarbete har satt den nationella välfärdsstaten på prov under de senaste decennierna. Två större finansiella kriser har också de påverkat politikens utformning. Under samma tid har begreppen hållbar utveckling och ekologisk modernisering bidragit med ståndpunkten att tillväxt och miljömedvetenhet kan gå hand i hand. Utifrån den kontexten diskuterar Karin Edberg i sin artikel huruvida miljöpolitiken kan sägas vara en del av den nutida svenska välfärdsstaten. Till grund för sitt resonemang använder sig Edberg av de årliga regeringsförklaringar som ges av statsministern i samband med riksdagens öppnande. Detta innebär att artikelns resultat inte speglar politisk praktik utan snarare vilka frågor som anses vara i den politiska hetluften och hur de artikuleras. Edberg visar hur miljöfrågan pendlat mellan att utgöra en avideologiserad och normaliserad del av det politiska landskapet, och en politisk vattendelare. I dag är idén om hållbar utveckling kittet som binder samman miljöpolitiken med välfärdsstaten – åtminstone på en retorisk nivå – och som gör miljö till en konsensusfråga.Publiceringshistorik: Originalpublicering.(Publicerad 7 oktober 2016)Förslag på källangivelse: Edberg, Karin (2016) "Från motsatsförhållande till symbios? Miljöpolitik och välfärd i ekonomiska upp- och nedgångar", i Arkiv. Tidskrift för samhällsanalys, nr 6, s. 7–37. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13068/2000-6217.6.1

In 2005, the Nord Stream Consortium launched a pipeline project with the intention to bring Russian natural gas to Germany across the Baltic Sea. Although this raised crucial issues of Russia-EU-Sweden relations on security, energy and the environment the focus of this report is on the Gotland local government response to the Nord Stream approach, thus illustrating the need for a transversal human geography-political studies perspective. Situated in the heart of the Baltic Sea, and in line with the established Swedish governmental "remiss" procedure of commission and referral for consideration the Gotland authority was requested by the Swedish Government to make a statement about the pipeline. How-ever, before the government was even asked for permission the Nord Stream Consortium with Russian Gazprom as the major shareholder turned to the Gotland authority with an offer they after some conflict-ridden twists and turns, manifested in three policy lines as described in the report, decided not to refuse. A narrative inspired analytical ap-proach is applied to dissect the more or less contradictory standpoints and legitimating arguments posed by the actors in the political process preceding the local authority decision to accept the Nord Stream offer, i.e. the local scale actors were provoked to take a stand on a big issue raised by a huge multinational company. By in detail examining the local political repercussions of the energy project the case study contributes to a trans-disciplinary understanding of multi-scalar/multi-level govern-ance. In an epilogue the report also highlights the sudden turnaround of the local narrative in autumn 2016 when Gotland Regional Authority was on the brink of making a deal with Nord Stream II. The turnaround flashlights the geopolitical position of the island in the crossfire of inter-ests concerning the Baltic Sea Region.

In 2005, the Nord Stream Consortium launched a pipeline project with the intention to bring Russian natural gas to Germany across the Baltic Sea. Although this raised crucial issues of Russia-EU-Sweden relations on security, energy and the environment the focus of this report is on the Gotland local government response to the Nord Stream approach, thus illustrating the need for a transversal human geography-political studies perspective. Situated in the heart of the Baltic Sea, and in line with the established Swedish governmental "remiss" procedure of commission and referral for consideration the Gotland authority was requested by the Swedish Government to make a statement about the pipeline. How-ever, before the government was even asked for permission the Nord Stream Consortium with Russian Gazprom as the major shareholder turned to the Gotland authority with an offer they after some conflict-ridden twists and turns, manifested in three policy lines as described in the report, decided not to refuse. A narrative inspired analytical ap-proach is applied to dissect the more or less contradictory standpoints and legitimating arguments posed by the actors in the political process preceding the local authority decision to accept the Nord Stream offer, i.e. the local scale actors were provoked to take a stand on a big issue raised by a huge multinational company. By in detail examining the local political repercussions of the energy project the case study contributes to a trans-disciplinary understanding of multi-scalar/multi-level govern-ance. In an epilogue the report also highlights the sudden turnaround of the local narrative in autumn 2016 when Gotland Regional Authority was on the brink of making a deal with Nord Stream II. The turnaround flashlights the geopolitical position of the island in the crossfire of inter-ests concerning the Baltic Sea Region.