Suchergebnisse

The concept of civil society has lately become fashionable in political as well as scientificcontexts. This article critically discusses the 'politics of truth' in A Persistent Democracy!, thefinal report of the Swedish Commission on Democracy. The argument in the article is that thereport over-stresses the importance of civil society and the role of individual responsibilitiesand initiatives against public arrangements and interventions, referred to in the report as statepaternalism. The report is making specific 'technologies of government' visible, as it is creatingcitizens as primarily 'moral human beings'. The problem with strategies to 'roll back theState' for the benefit of a civil society of this kind, is that they necessarily open up for inequalitiesand conflicts in-built in civil society. To deepen democracy presupposes a continuouslong-term struggle for changing predominant power structures and unequal distributionsof vital resources, material and non-material. In this perspective, the report of the Swedish Commission on Democracy does not offer an adequate answer to challenging questions forthe future of a vitalized Swedish democracy. ; Reprint ur Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift 2000 (http://www.statsvetenskapligtidskrift.se/section.asp?id=552)

The organization of civil society The three societal spheres state, market and civil society are compared from an organizational perspective. A state is a certain kind of organization with compulsory affiliation. The state is an empirical category that is fairly easy to describe. A market is made up of the interaction of several organizations in exchange. Most actors on a market are people acting on behalf of organizations. Also states are present in markets buying arms for example, or as employers on the labour market. There are several kinds of organization mentioned in connection with civil society such as voluntary associations, social movements and networks. It is concluded that the organizations of civil society are not very persistent. Moreover the notion of civil society is not more incompatible with the state than with other organizational arrangements. As a conclusion it is argued that it is more relevant to understand social processes in terms of types of organization that in terms of states, markets and civil society. ; Sociologisk Forsknings digitala arkiv

"This book is a study of elections to the representative organ of Norway's indigenous people, the Sámi. Based on quantitative and qualitative research, the anthology examines various aspects of elections to the Sámi Parliament, both in general and regarding the 2017 election in particular. The nine chapters delve into a wide range of topics, from voter behaviour and election results to more fundamental questions regarding indigenous representation and organizing in Norway.

The book covers five main themes. First, Sámi identity and criteria for voter registration. What are considered acceptable grounds for claiming to be Sámi, and what criteria do people use when judging others as Sámi or non-Sámi? When is one 'Sámi enough' to qualify for the right to vote? These questions have a bearing on the very core of Sámi politics: who should be allowed to choose representatives on behalf of the Sámi people? Second, Sámi civil society. How do organizations that represent Sámi persons and Sámi interests relate to the Sámi Parliament? Third, voter turnout. How do we explain non-voting in a system where, unlike those for other elections in Norway, one must actively register in advance to be able to vote? And what about the fact that voters in municipalities with fewer than 30 registered voters must vote in advance? Do these circumstances depress voter turnout? Fourth, the party-political landscape. What differentiates supporters of the different parties? Are there clear differences that make it easier for voters to identify the distinctions between the parties? Finally, elections and voter information. Where do voters find information about this election? We look specifically at how parties and voters find each other in South Norway, the largest constituency in the country, and yet one in which Sámi parliamentary elections are rarely covered by the media.

Sámi Parliamentary Elections: Identity, Participation, Party Politics will be relevant for everyone interested in indigenous representation and participation generally, and the Sámi democratic system in Norway particularly, especially students, academics, journalists and those who are actively engaged in Sámi politics." - "Denne boka er den tredje i en rekke av studier av sametingsvalg i Norge. Med utgangspunkt i velgerundersøkelser og kvalitative studier behandler boka ulike sider ved sametingsvalg generelt og valget i 2017 spesielt. Gjennom ni kapitler ser boka både på velgeradferd og valgresultat og på mer grunnleggende spørsmål om samepolitikkens oppbygging.

Boka har fem hovedtemaer. For det første, samisk identitet og forholdet til valgmanntallet. Hva skal til for å oppfatte seg selv eller andre som same? Når er man «samisk nok» til å melde seg inn i valgmanntallet? Disse spørsmålene angår selve grunnlaget for samepolitikken: hvem som skal tillates å velge representanter på vegne av det samiske folket. For det andre, det samiske sivilsamfunnet. Hvordan forholder organisasjoner som representerer samer og samiske interesser seg til Sametinget? For det tredje, valgdeltakelse. Hvordan kan man forklare hjemmesitting i et system der man – i motsetning til andre valg i Norge – aktivt må registrere seg på forhånd som velger? Og hva med det faktum at velgere i kommuner med færre enn 30 manntallsførte må forhåndsstemme – bidrar dette til å trekke ned valgdeltakelsen? For det fjerde, det partipolitiske landskapet. Hva skiller velgerne til de ulike partiene? Er det tydelige forskjeller som gjør det lett for velgerne å se forskjell på partiene? For det femte, valgkampen og velgernes informasjon. Hvor henter velgerne sin informasjon om valget fra? Vi ser særlig på hvordan partier og velgere finner hverandre i Sør-Norge, en valgkrets der sametingsvalget nesten ikke dekkes i mediene.

Sametingsvalg: Tilhørighet, deltakelse, partipolitikk henvender seg til alle som er opptatt av ulike sider ved det å ha et samisk demokratisk system i Norge, men særlig til studenter, forskere, journalister og samepolitisk aktive."

[The late-Soviet social mobilization: the neformaly movement during the perestroika]The late-Soviet social mobilization was characterized by a mass grassroots organization of groups with numerous ideological orientations and political preferences. One of the significant influences came in the form of the informal or neformaly movement. Since 1987 the term is usually associated with socially oriented and political groups (from democrats to anarchists, from monarchists to social-democrats) that cooperated with each other in a broad spectrum of (often apolitical) initiatives in education, culture, environmental protection, sports, etc. They distanced themselves from the state and state-affiliated structures as well as from the new "democratic leaders" emerging from the old party elites. They relied upon horizontal organizational processes and aimed to saturate existing political structures with a new democratic content. Aleksandr Šubin's article describes the process of how the neformaly movement became a driving force for the establishment of political pluralism and the foundation of civil society in Russia.Publication history: Published original.(Published 8 February 2017)Citation: Šubin, Aleksandr V. (2017) "Den sensovjetiska sociala mobiliseringen: neformaly-rörelsen under perestrojkan", in Från perestrojka till Bolotnaja. Utvecklingen av ett ryskt civilsamhälle, special issue of Arkiv. Tidskrift för samhällsanalys, issue 7, pp. 27–55. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13068/2000-6217.7.1 ; Den sensovjetiska sociala mobiliseringen karakteriserades av omfattande gräsrotsorganisering av grupper med olika ideologiska inriktningar och politiska preferenser. En av de mest inflytelserika miljöerna var den informella rörelsen, eller neformaly-rörelsen, som bestod av sociala och politiska grupper (med allt från demokrater till anarkister, monarkister till socialdemokrater) som samarbetade med varandra inom ett brett spektrum av initiativ inom utbildning, kultur, miljöskydd, idrott etc. De distanserade sig både från staten och andra officiella sammanhang, och från de nya "demokratiska ledarna" som kom från de gamla partieliterna. De skapade horisontella organisationsprocesser och syftade till att mätta de existerande politiska strukturerna med ett nytt demokratiskt innehåll. Aleksandr Šubins artikel beskriver hur den informella rörelsen etablerades som en drivande kraft för utvecklingen av politisk pluralism och lade grunden för det civila samhället i Ryssland.Publiceringshistorik: Originalpublicering.(Publicerad 8 februari 2017)Förslag på källangivelse: Šubin, Aleksandr V. (2017) "Den sensovjetiska sociala mobiliseringen: neformaly-rörelsen under perestrojkan", i Från perestrojka till Bolotnaja. Utvecklingen av ett ryskt civilsamhälle, specialnummer av Arkiv. Tidskrift för samhällsanalys, nr 7, s. 27–55. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13068/2000-6217.7.1

Societal spheres in the light of history A division of society into statecraft, economy, and civil society is found in Plato's Republic. Its theoretical base is the differentiated and sometimes contradictory norms for these spheres. The mainstream of European structuration is traced from the 'two swords' - state and church - that structured western European society in the Middle Ages to the six societal spheres (or cardinal institutions) of society - the economy, government, science, religion, ethics, and art - that are visible today. Each maintain a large measure of independence (Weber's Eigengesetzlichkeit). Each is dependent on a special type of freedom: civic liberties, free trade, academic freedom, religious toleration, the right to follow one's conscience, artistic license. The paper pauses in this differentiation process at special junctures: the English revolution, the emergence of the Latin American and North American societies, the evolution of modem society as an underpinning of democracy, the emergence of the European Union, and the post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe. ; Sociologisk Forsknings digitala arkiv

The aim of the study is twofold. First, to provide a picture of what happens when groups of citizens cooperate with municipalities and administrations to produce services essential to the community, i.e., elderly care or road maintenance. Second, to compare this picture with the picture of citizens' involvement that the civil society theories describe. This is done by comparing four different cooperation projects. The empirical material has been gathered through four qualitative case studies – two elderly care cases and two road maintenance cases – and the analytical frame has been drawn mostly from organization theory, especially the resource dependence and the institutional perspectives. In the dissertation it is shown that in the projects with less complications the processes developed in a way that balanced, to some extent, the asymmetry in the dependence relation, i.e., the resources controlled by the groups became more interesting for the administrations and municipalities. These processes did also develop in a way that made it possible for the actors to come to an agreement of what problem the project was supposed to solve. These findings covariates with how interested the municipalities and the Road Administration organizations were to participate in the cooperation projects. It also covariates with the use of institutionalized cooperation forms. The short cut of an already defined and legitimated cooperation form implied that less transaction resources had to be invested in the cooperation itself – but as a result the actors did not communicate sufficiently and therefore did not develop a mutual understanding and trust. Another finding is that both the groups and the municipalities and administrations had pragmatic motives for their involvement in the cooperation projects, which led to an organizational form that was effective for the purpose of solving the identified problem with the elderly care/road maintenance, but not for the unintended consequences described by the civil society theories. As the group of citizens really involved was small, the consequences – greater solidarity and responsibility, and a decentralized democratic process, only comprised a few, mostly resourceful, citizens. Finally, the study shows that the groups' contributions to the democratic process were limited by their involvement in actually solving the problem in question, i.e., to build and run an elderly home or to work with the improvement of the roads. The findings suggests that the picture of citizens' involvement often put forward in the political debate in Sweden – as both a complement to the service provided by the public sector and a way to improve the democratic process – ought to be the subject of further research.

"Volunteering and political activism are two key forms of civic engagement. There is a broad consensus that civic engagement, which often involves participation in various forms of collective action, is a cornerstone of a well-functioning democracy. Civic engagement and participation in collective action have traditionally been linked to social movements and voluntary organizations. Collective action is, however, changing as a result of societal- level processes of change, such as digitalization, the emergence of social media, individualization and globalization.

This book investigates how these social changes have affected the ways individuals participate in different forms of collective action. What consequences does digitalization have for civic engagement in Norway? Is the distinction between volunteering and political activism about being wiped out? Are new organizational forms arising as a result of digitalization and individualization? Has globalization led to new forms of transnational networks? And more generally, are the traditional forms of collective action, rooted in civil society organizations, replaced by a new form of ""connective action""? Based on a variety of data sources, including survey data, case studies and in-depth interviews, the authors paint a broad picture of how different forms of collective action and civic engagement in Norway are influenced by processes of social change.

The analyzes in this book are based on a five-year research project within the Center for Research on Civil Society and Voluntary Sector, funded by the Ministry of Culture. The book presents the project's main findings in an edited volume with contributions from an interdisciplinary team of authors." - "Frivillig innsats og politisk aktivisme er to sentrale former for samfunnsengasjement. Det er en bred enighet om at samfunnsengasjement, som ofte innebærer deltakelse i ulike former for kollektiv handling, er en hjørnestein i et velfungerende demokrati. Samfunnsengasjement og deltakelse i kollektiv handling har tradisjonelt vært knyttet til sosiale bevegelser og frivillige organisasjoner. Kollektive handlingsformer er imidlertid i endring som en følge av endringsprosesser på samfunnsnivå, som digitalisering, fremvekst av sosiale medier, individualisering og globalisering.

Denne boken undersøker hvordan disse samfunnsendringene har påvirket måten individene deltar i ulike former for kollektiv handling på. Hvilke konsekvenser har digitalisering for samfunnsengasjement i Norge? Er skillet mellom frivillighet og politisk aktivisme i ferd med å bli visket ut? Oppstår det nye organisasjonsformer som følge av digitalisering og individualisering? Har globalisering ført til nye former for transnasjonale nettverk? Og mer generelt, blir de tradisjonelle former for kollektiv handling, forankret i sivilsamfunns organisasjoner, erstattet av en ny form for «konnektiv handling»? Basert på en rekke datakilder, inkludert surveydata, casestudier og dybde intervjuer, maler forfatterne et bredt bilde av hvordan ulike former for kollektiv handling og samfunnsengasjement i Norge påvirkes av samfunnsendringsprosesser.

Analysene i denne boken bygger på et femårig forskningsprosjekt innenfor Sentret for forskning på sivilsamfunn og frivillig sektor, finansiert av Kulturdepartementet. Boken presenterer prosjektets hovedfunn i en redigert bok med bidrag fra et tverrfaglig team av forfattere."

"Post-war expansion of the welfare state is one of the most central changes in Norwegian society
today and is often a topic in public debate. When certain conceptions about the welfare state
are developed and they are no longer based on systematic analyses but rather ideas and attitudes,
they can turn into myths. However, to be termed myths requires documentation, and
here social research plays an important role. This book rejects and elaborates central myths in
the public debate about the welfare state. The book is structured as an anthology, written by six
welfare sociologists at the University of Bergen. The first article introduces the history of The
Myth of the Welfare State, a book published by Pax in 1970, then revised a few years later, and
with a follow-up version in 1995, 25 years after that. The book became a flaming light within
the social policy debate, because it criticized the welfare state for not solving the problem of
poverty. Although this problem, relatively seen, is reduced, the following five articles show
that, within the framework of the welfare state, there is room for new important critical discussions.
One myth focuses on the idea that a combination of a comprehensive state and an active
civil society with much voluntary work is not possible. Another concerns the idea that welfare
results in dependency. A third is about the "Elder Boom". A fourth concerns single mothers
and assumes that these unlawfully try to get access to welfare. And finally, the last discusses
the ideas that crime should result in punishment and "prison pain". Together, the articles are a
contribution to make the debate about the welfare state richer and more dynamic." - "Utbyggingen av velferdsstaten i etterkrigstiden hører til en av de mest sentrale endringer i
det norske samfunn, og er ofte et tema i den offentlige debatt. Når bestemte forestillinger om
velferdsstaten utvikles og de ikke lenger bygger på systematiske analyser, men på ideer og
holdninger, kan de bli til myter. At det er snakk om myter, må imidlertid dokumenteres, og her
spiller samfunnsforskningen en viktig rolle. Denne boken tilbakeviser og nyanserer sentrale
myter i den offentlige debatt om velferdsstaten. Boken er bygget opp som en antologi, skrevet
av seks velferdssosiologer fra Universitetet i Bergen. Den første artikkelen gir en innføring
i historien om Myten om velferdsstaten, en bok utgitt av Pax i 1970, siden revidert noen år
etter og med en oppfølger i 1995, 25 år etter. Boken ble en brannfakkel i den sosialpolitiske
debatt, fordi den kritiserte velferdsstaten for ikke å håndtere fattigdomsproblemet. Selv om
dette problemet, relativt sett, er redusert, utgjør de etterfølgende artiklene om fem aktuelle
velferdsmyter en argumentasjon for, at det, innenfor velferdsstatens rammer, er rom for nye
viktige kritiske diskusjoner. Én myte handler om at en sterk stat ikke kan forenes med et aktivt
samfunn med stor grad av frivillighet. En annen handler om at velferd skaper avhengighet. En
tredje handler om eldrebølgen. En fjerde handler om at alenemødre antas å lure til seg velferd.
Og endelig handler en siste myte om at kriminalitet må møtes med straff og 'fengselspine'.
Artiklene er samlet sett et bidrag til å gjøre debatten om velferdsstaten rikere og mer dynamisk."

"This book is a study of elections to the representative organ of Norway's indigenous people, the Sámi. Based on quantitative and qualitative research, the anthology examines various aspects of elections to the Sámi Parliament, both in general and regarding the 2017 election in particular. The nine chapters delve into a wide range of topics, from voter behaviour and election results to more fundamental questions regarding indigenous representation and organizing in Norway. The book covers five main themes. First, Sámi identity and criteria for voter registration. What are considered acceptable grounds for claiming to be Sámi, and what criteria do people use when judging others as Sámi or non-Sámi? When is one 'Sámi enough' to qualify for the right to vote? These questions have a bearing on the very core of Sámi politics: who should be allowed to choose representatives on behalf of the Sámi people? Second, Sámi civil society. How do organizations that represent Sámi persons and Sámi interests relate to the Sámi Parliament? Third, voter turnout. How do we explain non-voting in a system where, unlike those for other elections in Norway, one must actively register in advance to be able to vote? And what about the fact that voters in municipalities with fewer than 30 registered voters must vote in advance? Do these circumstances depress voter turnout? Fourth, the party-political landscape. What differentiates supporters of the different parties? Are there clear differences that make it easier for voters to identify the distinctions between the parties? Finally, elections and voter information. Where do voters find information about this election? We look specifically at how parties and voters find each other in South Norway, the largest constituency in the country, and yet one in which Sámi parliamentary elections are rarely covered by the media. Sámi Parliamentary Elections: Identity, Participation, Party Politics will be relevant for everyone interested in indigenous representation and participation generally, and the Sámi democratic system in Norway particularly, especially students, academics, journalists and those who are actively engaged in Sámi politics."

It may be challenging to see how illegal hunting, a crime that ostensibly proceeds as shoot, shovel and shut up in remote rural communities, at all communicates with the regime. Examining the socio-legal interplay between hunters and state regulation, however, clarifies illegal hunting to be part of a politically motivated pattern of dissent that signals hunters' disenfranchisement from the polity. While few contemporary illegal hunters cut conscientious figures like Robin Hood, their violation of illegitimate law may likewise testify to a profound disjuncture between legality and legitimacy. This is the premise taken in the following research. Here it is observed contemporary Swedish hunters experience the deliberative system pertaining to wildlife and wolf conservation to be systematically stacked against them and unable to serve as a site for critical law-making that provides equal uptake of all voices. One manifestation of their growing disenfranchisement is the establishment of a counterpublic mobilised on the basis of shared semantics for the sorts of deliberative deficits they argue befall them in the present. Within the remit of their counterpublic, hunters undertake and justify illegal hunting along with other forms of disengaging dissent like abstentions, non-compliance, boycotts and conscientious refusals with state agencies. The research captures hunters' dissent in Smith's deliberative disobedience, a deliberative and Habermasian grounded reinterpretation of the more familiar classical theory of civil disobedience. On this perspective, illegal hunting signals a deficit in the deliberative system, which hunters both bypass by taking an alternative conduit for contestation, and draw attention to when they undertake dissent. The dissent in this case study is deconstructed in terms of its grammar—as simultaneously engaging and disengaging with the premises of power—and in terms of its communicative content. Set within the field of Environmental Communication, the dissertation is intended as an empirical and theoretical contribution to a discussion on the boundaries of political dialogue in the context of civic disenfranchisement: it asks whether some of hunters' dissent may be parsed as a call for a more inclusive debate, or as dialogic acts in themselves. Finally, it presents ways toward short-term and longer-term reconciliation of hunters with the deliberative system, drawing on the work of contestatory citizen mini-publics from the third wave of deliberative democracy.

Bergslagen in south-central Sweden is an informal region with a long history of intensive land use. The legacies of than 2000 years of integrated use of ore, forests and water major national and international economic importance now involve several challenges for the maintenance of landscapes. This includes sustainability of rural and urban communities, of green infrastructures for natural capital and human well-being as well as of forests, river basins and mining. In response to this cross-sectoral integration necessary at multiple levels of public, private and civil as well as academia and schools. Landscapes need thus to be viewed as integrated socio-ecological systems. Collaboration and continuous learning among actors and stakeholders are needed for sustainable use and management of landscapes' goods, services and values. To support this requires (1) data, monitoring and assessment of different aspects of sustainability, (2) continuous knowledge production about material and immaterial landscape values relevant for the management of ecological, economic, social and cultural dimensions, (3) information and communication using both traditional media, as well as (4) through art and culture. the vision to contribute to satisfying these requirements Sustainable Bergslagen initiative emerged gradually since 2004 as a multi-level partnership for sustainable landscapes (www.bergslagen.org). By joining the International Model Forest Network (IMFN), and the network for Long Term Socio-Economic and Ecological Research (LTSER), actors and stakeholders can learn from other regions' sustainable development processes, and make Bergslagen more visible internationally.

The future woman – what would she be like? And what would be her place in society? These questions were explored through stories about girls' upbringing and education in nineteenth and early twentieth century literature for girls. About the time of the breakthrough of women novelists in the 1830s, books for girls started to be published. They depict everyday games and exhilarating adventures, student life and vocational dreams. By addressing girls directly, these books aimed at both discussing and influencing future female citizens. In Future Women, Maria Andersson shows how Swedish literature for girls and its depiction of young women was a part of the nineteenth century debate on women's civil and political rights. The genre gathered authors of different political convictions but they were all united by the fact that young women became the focal point of contemporary social changes in their works. Housewifely girls, manly women students and shopping coquettes illustrated different paths to adulthood and modern life. In the girl book genre, the young woman was simultaneously a vehicle of nostalgic memories from a lost world and the promise of a more equal, peaceful future.

At the centre of this study lies one of the critical questions faced by (late-)modern society, namely that of taking care of the long-lived radioactive waste from nuclear power production. The problems of nuclear waste management are pictured as embracing a complex web of essential issues for society today, in terms of both its capacities and its shortcomings – so called core issues. The principal aim of the thesis is to examine the nuclear waste discourse in Malå, Västerbotten, from a critical discourse analytical perspective, through applying the approach developed by Michel Foucault in The Order of Discourse. During the 1990s, the municipality of Malå played a prominent role as a candidate site for the geological disposal of Sweden's spent nuclear fuel. A five-year process culminated in a local referendum on whether detailed site investigations should be permitted within the community. Following the result no further investigations have been undertaken. The discourse analysis is carried out through a study of opinion formation in the municipality during the period October 1992 to October 1997. Two main types of empirical material have been collected: interviews with opinion leaders (politicians, activists, journalists, information professionals, etc.) and contemporaneous mass media content (the local newspaper and regional television news). In the empirical analysis, a review is made of the workings of the external and internal control mechanisms within the discourse; that is to say, how they serve to set limits on the content and form of the sense-making process concerning nuclear waste management. Important themes in the opinion forming process in Malå include information and expertise, opposition and legitimacy, the centre/periphery relationship and the themes of mistrust, partitioning and rejection. Among other themes identified as being marginalised or absent, one example is the Samish citizens' views on the nuclear question. Four actors play a prominent role as authors of the discourse, namely the nuclear industry, the experts, Greenpeace and the mass media. The voices of resistance groups are also significant. Representatives from authorities and civil servants were most likely to take the commentary role in the discourse, along with journalists. In the concluding analysis of the nuclear waste discourse in Malå, two main types of desire for truth, which form the discourse's main order, are identified. The stronger concerns the will to know, which places the expert with a scientific background as the principal truth-teller. The other is 'ordinary' people's desire, which influences the content and form of the opinion formation. It is also concluded that the mass media institutions play a significant role in this context, not least as mediators. Reflections on contemporary 'core issues' to which the analysis bears witness, such as the crisis of democracy, are also included. In addition, the implications of applying the Foucaultian research programme to a study of the nuclear question have been considered.