In May 1856 the EFS (the Swedish Evangelical Mission Society), influenced by the new evangelism-movement, was established as an "internal mission" within the Church of Sweden. During the same period the "new evangelism" revival movement established regional organizations in order to coordinate the movement in different parts of the country. These regional organizations consisted of the movement's local mission societies in a province or part of a province of Sweden. This study will focus on democracy and theological identity in the EFS through an analysis of how the regional organizations acted, what role they played, how the EFS was influenced by them and how the EFS decided to establish its own regional organization. One result of the earlier tensions between the regional mission organizations and the EFS was the establishment of the independent organizations Mission Covenant Church of Sweden (Svenska Missionsförbundet) (1878-) and Mission Society of Bible faithful Friends (Missionssällskapet Bibeltrogna Vänner) (1911-). This investigation looks into 17 of 36 regional mission organizations that existed. The time frame of the investigation is from the establishment of the EFS in 1856 to the establishment of the regional structure of the EFS in 1922. The EFS changed over time. The change of society and wishes from the movement's local mission societies and regional mission organizations were agents in this transformation. An important result of this research is that this transformation of the EFS proceeded at a slow pace and with the preservation of the EFS's theological identity.
This study deals with the ethnopolitical mobilization among the Sami in Sweden during the first half of the 20th century. The investigation focus on why this mobilization took place, the demands the Sami made, and the strategies used to achieve these goals. Opposition towards the Swedish Sami policy was the most important reason for the political mobilization among the Sami. Both the formation of the Sami policy at the central administrative level, and the implementation of the policy at the regional and local level by the Lapp administration were criticised. During the first half of the period of investigation the Sami protests focused on policy decisions at central government level. During the later half of the period, it was the actions of the Lapp administration that triggered Sami activity. The central demands brought forward by the Sami movement concerned the position of the Sami in Swedish society. At the beginning of the period the Swedish Sami policy was based on the so called "Lapp shall remain Lapp" ideology. The Sami were looked upon as a reindeer herders by nature, who were weak and could not protect themselves against civilization, which was viewed as a threat to the cultural survival of the Sami. Therefore, they were to be protected by being segregated from the surrounding society. Only the reindeer herding Sami, however, were considered to be Sami which meant that a majority of the Sami population was not included in the Swedish Sami policy. A cultural boundary was drawn, which separated the Sami population into two large segments. Because of this, the main demands of the Sami movement were that the Sami should be granted an equal position in the Swedish society and that the Sami policy should include more aspects than just reindeer herding.Two main strategies were adopted by the Sami leaders to achieve the goals of the Sami movement. The first was to try to create a network of local Sami societies within a national Sami organization. As in Swedish society group interests were represented by a number of different organizations, Sami organizations were a precondition if the Sami were to be able to hold a dialogue with the Swedish authorities. However, during the period of investigation the Sami movement failed in its attempts to form a national Sami organization, which weakened the movement. The second strategy was directed at achieving more limited gains through goal-oriented actions, where the Sami were mobilized for shorter periods behind different demands. This second strategy was more successful during the period of investigation. However, ultimately the creation of a national Sami organization, was found to be a requirement if the Sami movement was to be able to influence the Swedish Sami policy. The formation of Svenska Samernas Riksförbund (National Union of the Swedish Sami) in 1950 was therefore an important step for the Sami movement.
This study takes as its point of departure the theorizing on citizenship and globalization. Today it is common to discuss a "flexible" citizenship beyond the paradigm of the nationstate, which, besides its legal aspects of rights and obligations, also includes identification with and participation in various communities, primarily political ones. "Politics", in this context, is considered to be constituted on the micro-level, discursively between individuals (e.g. Laclau and Mouffe 1985). The aim of the study is to, through the study of collective meaning making, contribute to the theory building about citizenship and globalization. The study consists of three cases, each of which attracted much media attention, with varying degrees of proximity and distance. The construction of political community, on various levels on the globalization scale (subnational, national, transnational) within the collective meaning making, is studied. The aim of the study also includes the analysis of the discursive resources that are used for the making of meaning. "External" discourses such as media messages and interpersonal communication are analyzed as well as "internal" ones: e.g. values, norms, identifications and experiences. In addition, the study aims at localizing the construction of meaning and community within the structural context , and relating it to current structures of power. The thesis is concluded with a suggestion of how to relate the discursive construction of political identity to deliberative democracy theory. The empirical material is collected by means of focus-groups interviews, including 2–5 people, with a total of 133 respondents. The transcribed material is analyzed by means of critical discourse analysis, CDA. The study identifies two different types of identity constructions: processes of nationalization, where the experienced Swedish identity and community function normatively in the making of meaning, and processes of subnationalization, among those groups that somehow felt excluded from and mistreated by the national (Swedish) environment. The thesis concludes that the collective making of meaning within an assumed national community contains ideological elements and works to a large extent in the service of power. However, the subnationally compressed communities create meaning in an oppositional manner, compared with the nationalized community and in relation to structures of power. Active citizenship is thus best located in conflict, among groups that experience exclusion and oppression in different situations (Mouffe 1995b). If this is right, the focus must shift from consensus to communication, efforts to open up discursive bridges between the hegemonic community and dissident voices should be made (c.f. Aronowitz 1995). An important space for transgressing communication is of course the media. However, the study shows that the media must deal with some problems before they are ready to serve as discursive bridges, for instance the tendency to make the factual antagonisms subordinate to homogenizing emotional reporting. In addition, there seems to exist a need for the political institutions to move beyond the paradigm of the nation-state, and find other frameworks for the democratic processes, not least at the subnational level. Thus, instead of discussing either a global or a national citizenship one could, with Habermas (2001), reflect on a postnational citizenship relating to the reflexive transformation of national civic sovereignty into subnational and supranational citizenship.
An analysis o f articles about Sweden which have appeared in the Polish press from 1989 to 1999 makes it possible to distinguish the most frequent subjects chosen by Polish journalists. These subjects include the unsolved case of the assassination of Olof Palme, the drawbacks of the Swedish welfare state, the controversies connected with Swedish neutrality, the discussions on how far equality can go and the problems of a multicultural country; as well as Swedish peculiarities such as alcohol policy, liberal morals, the position of the Church in a secularized society and the attachment to the monarchy. This article covers several examples o f these most popular topics. It also examines the way in which they have been presented, with regard to the traditional perception of Sweden by Poles as well as to the sense of Polish national identity noticeable in the journalists' comments. The problems connected with these issues are discussed in greater detail in the author's doctoral thesis in the chapter which deals with the perception of Sweden in Poland.
Society and Identity- Developments and Challenges in Swedish Youth Politics in the 1990´s. There are many ways to describe and value young people's interest and engagement in politics. While some defend extraparliamentarian activism as an important road to political engagement, others stress the need for young people to become familiar with the political system. These two contradictory views express a common concern for the importance of involving the young in the political process – this is an issue that the system has to deal with. Should the established political system affirm the youths' active participation and desire to make a change? Is it possible to do this without a loss of respect for democracy? Is it possible to develop democracy without changing it radically Behind these questions, lies the deeper question about how the established democratic system, in practice in the state and municipalities, handle a) the political involvement of youths and b) the transmission of democratic values to new generations. Furthermore, these questions are based on the fundamental assumption that a democratic culture can only be communicated and upheld through processes of political socialization, where norms, knowledge and values are passed on from one generation to the next. In order for this particular kind of communication to succeed, it is crucial that people see their citizenship in a democratic society as an important part of their identity. One of the main functions of the democratic political system is to create and uphold identities and attitudes that are intimately connected to the system itself. Therefore, the political institutions are central actors in the communication process of political socialization. Communication is a paradoxical concept. It is a human activity that everyone is involved in, but few can define unambiguously. Professor James Carey, who analyses the concept in Communication as culture, essays on media and society (1989), introduced the idea of communication as ritual. Although broad in meaning, this definition highlights communication as central in the construction of both society and identity. Society exists and works through the communication between people and because we learn the codes of interaction that exist in the societal context: But, whatever the details of the production and reproduction of social life, it is through communication, through the intergraded relations of symbols and social structure, that societies, or at least those with we are most familiar, are created, maintained, and transformed. In this dissertation, the notion that communication is pivotal in the formation of both society and identities, is fundamental. Communication is the core of democratic development and the passing on of democratic values from one generation to the next. Political socialization is a question of communication processes. Objective and research questions The objective of this dissertation is to investigate how the main actors in the Swedish political system; the state and the municipalities, deal with processes of society- and identity formation. This is achieved through an analysis of the perspectives on political socialization that are expressed by these actors in youth politics in the 1990's. Three main research questions are central in this dissertation: Do the state and the municipalities understand their role in the process of political socialization as mainly hierachical or interactive? How is the role of the youth construed by these actors? Are they seen as active or passive in the process of political socialization? Do these actors regard political socialization chiefly as a matter of continuation or as development? Over the years, political socialization research has generated different views on the youth, democracy development and the political system. Early research tended to regard the youth as a passive group in a hierarchical political system that acted mainly on behalf of it's own preservation. This perspective saw political socialization as a matter of teaching the young to assimilate to the existing political system. Later research has shown that the process is more interactive than was previously thought: youths are influenced, but at the same time they also influence others. This shift in perspective raises questions of how the political system construes the process of political socialization, it's own role in this process, the role the youth and ultimately; how democracy best can be developed. Conclusion The findings of the different studies in this dissertation show an overwhelmingly hierarchical construal of political socialization by the state and the municipalities. The idea of interactivity and development, advocated by later research, is only visible in some of the municipalities. Furthermore, youths are considered as having some political awareness, but this awareness needs to be cultivated through teaching. Therefore, youths are seen as passive receivers in the communicative process of political socialization – and not as active participants. At the same time, –on a rhetorical level–both the state and the municipalities express an ambition to create possibilities for youths to take responsibility and to find their own organizational solutions for political engagement. However, this dissertation also shows that this ambition is nowhere matched by any willingness to change the existing system, if that is what is required in order for the youth to develop own organizational solutions. The state regards the process of political socialization from a perspective of continuation and conservation. Youths are therefore mainly seen as a problem until they have reached a level of political awareness that allows them to function within the existing political system. The municipalities wants to get involved in the political socialization of youths through their "youth-councils", but it is obvious that the main perspective is one of socialization into the existing political system. In order to be able to participate and have influence on decision-making, youths have to learn the form and the language required by the existing political system. It is not, according to the municipalities, the system that needs to change. The state and the municipalities consider youths as mouldable object that also have the ability to participate and shape society. When the states and municipalities' assumptions about the youth's political interests and enthusiasm do not correlate to the youth's, the process of identity-formation becomes paradoxical. A hierarchical system meets young people who do not want to interact with the system. A system aimed at its own continuation and preservation of the existing order, that mainly aims to teach youths to fit into the system, will meet youths who want to create new forms of organizations. Therefore, when the state and municipalities in the ambition of socializing youths into the political system, shut the door to real participation and influence that would mean actual change and development, it is perhaps not so surprising that some youths canalize their political commitment through extraparliamentary activism. On a rhetorical level everyone applauds ideas of development of the political system. But in reality, the state and the municipalities regard this development as challenging when the suggested changes threatens the established order.
A special regulatory regime applies to products of recombinant nucleic acid modifications. A ruling from the European Court of Justice has interpreted this regulatory regime in a way that it also applies to emerging mutagenesis techniques. Elsewhere regulatory progress is also ongoing. In 2015, Argentina launched a regulatory framework, followed by Chile in 2017 and recently Brazil and Colombia. In March 2018, the USDA announced that it will not regulate genome-edited plants differently if they could have also been developed through traditional breeding. Canada has an altogether different approach with their Plants with Novel Traits regulations. Australia is currently reviewing its Gene Technology Act. This article illustrates the deviation of the European Union's (EU's) approach from the one of most of the other countries studied here. Whereas the EU does not implement a case-by-case approach, this approach is taken by several other jurisdictions. Also, the EU court ruling adheres to a process-based approach while most other countries have a stronger emphasis on the regulation of the resulting product. It is concluded that, unless a functioning identity preservation system for products of directed mutagenesis can be established, the deviation results in a risk of asynchronous approvals and disruptions in international trade.
Georgia's foreign policy since the mid-1990s would appear to be a regional anomaly. While Georgia's neighbors have either accommodated to Russia's geopolitical interests or sought to navigate between Russia and the West, Georgian governments have pursued a comparatively stable pro-Western foreign policy orientation. Thus, structural arguments like geographic proximity, or Russia's assertive foreign policy, cannot account for the variation in foreign-policy orientation among post-Soviet states. Moreover, although alternative explanations, like Georgia's European identity and commitment to democracy, or explanations related to qualities of the Mikheil Saakashvili government, are not without merits, they cannot fully account for the continuity in Georgia's pro-Western foreign policy over time. This article argues that the collective memory of the traumatic years 1989–1994 is a key factor for understanding Georgia's foreign policy continuity. The collective memory and trauma related to loss of territory, together with a weak state and Russia's negative involvement, have shaped the strategic thinking of Georgia's foreign policy elites. This trauma explains Georgia's shift to a pro-Western foreign policy in the mid-1990s and the continuity of this policy up until today. This argument is supported by the author's interviews with key Georgian decision-makers responsible for foreign policy decisions.
This study is about seven women's organizations in Belgrade, Serbia and their relations to domestic and international donors during the period 2003-2006. My main research questions focus on their choices of either domestic or international cooperation partners. How and why did the women organize themselves? What factors were essential when selecting donors? In what ways were the organizations influenced by donors? Through interviews, with organization representatives' concepts such as gift and reciprocity, power and dependency, trust and mistrust and collective identity emerged. These concepts were used as points of departure for developing deeper understanding of women organizations' choice of cooperation partners. The women organizations' basically had two alternatives for cooperation: cooperation with foreign donors which offered funds, organizational development and social networks. Alternately, cooperation with local donors, which offered the equivalent except for the organizational development. Cooperation with the foreign donor has resulted in more professional attitudes to the work that have been desired by other international donors. A result is that they can compete with other women's organizations' for international funding. Cooperation with local donors has led to fewer resources but more independent working practices. For these women organizations' independence was important so they choose partners who, they felt more respected this allowing them to write articles or discuss gender in the media with little external influence. Regardless of the chosen donor the reciprocity is embedded in the relation between the donor and the receiver of aid, which in various ways is beneficial for both parties.
This thesis is about Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) practice in Sweden. Impact Assessment (IA) is expected to play a crucial role in enabling democratic and enlightened decision making. EIA practice seems however not to be in accordance with best IA practice norms and legislation in many countries. We therefore need a more thorough understanding of IA practice and its outcomes and about what is gained through EIA and thus also be able to suggest, on a more profound basis, how the practice can be improved. This thesis presents an analysis of the two cases EIA practice on cumulative effects and the final disposal for spent nuclear fuel. The methods and approaches used are qualitatively and include literature review, document analysis, individual interviews and focus group interviews. The results were analysed using social psychology theory and community of practice theory. The case of cumulative effects clearly demonstrated that a positive attitude towards including cumulative effects was in place, but the conditions to change the knowledge base were not. In the investigated case for a final disposal for spent nuclear fuel it was revealed that a shared practice and social learning over time might result in difficulties for the authority in mapping out a clear role and identity for itself in relation to the proponent. It also showed that the shared practice that has developed between the industry, and the competent authorities, has over time resulted in the adoption of a shared understanding and similar perspectives, concerning at least two points. The first concerns downgrading the need to more thoroughly investigate alternate technical methods to the main alternative, while the second concerns the need to avoid delays in the planning process. Communication and the shared practice that has developed over a long period of time, can have a significant and not necessarily positive impact on power relations and thus hamper knowledge production, diffusion of roles and identities.
The imprint on rural areas from social change since the 1950s is a decline in population, farming and other local working places, services, political platforms and meeting places. The aim of the thesis is to understand how these changes have affected the interrelations between people, place and history. The fieldwork was conducted in Locknevi, a parish in Småland. Interviews and participant observation were undertaken for four months, during a span of five years. In spite of the impoverishment of rural areas inhabitants seek to maintain social and time-space relations through new practises, mostly in local associations. These associations were once an important arena for modernising both agriculture and rural life. Now they are divided into agricultural and community based associations. People moving into the community often engage in community based associations. Hence local communities are now upheld by activities within associations and among friends instead of by work within agriculture. Three cases from Locknevi are the basis for discussions of the effect of social change over the last decades. For example the school is an important institution and meeting place. Here the struggle to retain the village school shows that when meeting places are in danger of disappearing people tend to mobilize against deterioration in living conditions. Furthermore the church is an important local political arena, institution and meeting place. The conflict within church leadership represents divergent views in the community, namely the old independent view and the new view incorporated in a global world. Moreover the moose hunt as an institution serves to maintain the sense of community. In this regard the effects of change are manifested in the way the local hunting teams respond to the activities of hunting tourism. Here tensions often emerge between cultural/social and economic stakes within the community. The empirical findings shows no conflict between seeking to maintain a strong place identity and embracing an openness towards society. On the contrary, this combination could well be the fundamental driving force for building society. However it is hard to create a viable community in the absence of local subsistence, meeting places, institutions and a concrete use of place.
This thesis is an attempt to formulate a constructive proposal for the ongoing establishment of a post-national European citizenship in the European Union. To the extent that the proposal is post-national, the ambition is to re-conceptualise the idea and ideal of citizenship in a new historical setting. To the extent that the proposal is constructive, the ambition is to develop and employ a methodology which combines normative and empirical analysis. The aim of the thesis is to make a contribution in each of these fields?with particular emphasis on the first. To achieve this, the thesis is focused on two questions. First, what should post-national citizenship mean? Second, to what extent can the European Union provide the conditions for such a post-national citizenship? The answer to the first question is based on the elaboration of a neo-republican norm and the analysis of the changing empirical conditions and organization of citizenship. The result is a trans-national model of citizenship, which diverges from both the cosmopolitan and the multicultural models that have attracted substantial attention in academic debates. Trans-national citizenship is a citizenship inspired by the Habermasian idea of constitutional patriotism, yet recognizes the continuing predominance of national citizenship and the complementary status of post-national citizenship. The answer to the second question is rooted in an empirical analysis of European citizenship and the application of the trans-national citizenship model to the existing realities of European citizenship. The first part of the constructive proposal is based on a critique of European citizenship as it stands with respect to its functionalism, its continued exclusivity, and its statist bias. The second part of the proposal is an extrapolation and subsequent comparison of three future-oriented principles for the evolution of European citizenship: free movement, identity, and residence. For each of these principles a metaphorical scenario is outlined: the market-oriented vision which basically reduces European citizens to customers of a mall; the European pan-national vision which reduces citizenship to an instrument for cultural reproduction; and the place-oriented vision of a European neighbourhood where all permanent residents are treated as equal subjects and sovereigns of the European polity. Having considered the intrinsic advantages and disadvantages of each scenario, the eventual proposal will comprise a defence of the third principle.
It is argued that political-administrative organizations are becoming increasingly complex with more horizontal governance required. In Swedish municipal administration, there is a group of administrators assigned the task of monitoring and promoting strategic topics that should be integrated horizontally within the organization. Examples of strategic topics are sustainability, safety/security, diversity, children/youth, public health, human rights, and gender equality. In the thesis, these administrators are called cross-sector strategists. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore how cross-sector strategists become a part of the political-administrative organization when representing, enacting, and reflecting on values in the undertaking of their formal posts. They are situated between the tradition of vertical governance, with formal procedures and hierarchy as its foundation, and the tradition of horizontal governance, with informal networks and deliberation as its foundation. Previous research has shown that this is likely to give rise to value conflicts, and the question is if cross-sector strategists experience value conflicts, and if so, how they cope with them. The cross-sector strategists are studied in this thesis from the perspective of situated agency – focusing on both the contextual expectations of the cross-sector strategists and on their internal reflections to solve value conflicts – in order to explore their process of becoming a part of the local government administration. A mixed-methods design is applied, containing analysis of job advertisements for cross-sector strategists, public managers, and social workers; in-depth interviews with cross-sector strategists; and a survey of professional networks for cross-sector strategists. The results show that cross-sector strategists are subjects to ambivalent and often-contradictory contextual expectations. Cross-sector strategists use the ambivalence of their work for their strategic purposes, and such ambivalence allows them to reframe their topics, their methods, their arguments, and their identity according to current situation in order to increase the impact of their assigned topics and diminish the inner conflict of wanting to be both a responsive bureaucrat and an active lobbyist. Combining these two dedications requires them to be highly reflexive and flexible actors. The outcome of cross-sector strategists' coping with value conflicts can be interpreted in two ways: 1) as if the cross-sector strategists are a formal tool to safeguard crucial democratic and ethical values due to the cross-sector strategists' method of sneaking the strategic policy areas into the organization. Or 2) as a to democracy risky administrative behavior in the long-term due to the disguising of value conflicts and diminished possibilities to process these value conflicts
Society is facing significant challenges in transforming to a sustainable food system where healthy food is provided, while reducing the negative environmental impact. Yet, it is debatable whose responsibility it is to provide healthy, environmentally friendly food from sustainable food systems. As food retailers have huge power through their supply and placement, it has been argued that they could steer consumers towards sustainable choices. Shifting from nudging- and sustainability marketing initiatives towards retail led in-store choice restrictions have therefore been suggested to enable a sustainable food system but has not been executed to great extent due to the fear of losing consumers. The aim of the study was to explore consumer understandings of and attitudes towards retail led in-store choice restrictions aiming to reduce the negative environmental and health impacts from food consumption. This was assumed to provide insights regarding where the perceived burden of responsibility lies and in what ways food retailers could be a leverage point for shaping sustainable consumption. The study used a qualitative approach where four semi-structured individual interviews with Axfood, Coop, ICA and WWF as well as four semi-structured focus group interviews with consumers were conducted and continuously integrated with a literature review. A content analysis of the collected empirical data was conducted with the help of the theoretical framework following Kahneman's fast- and slow thinking systems, perceptions, the Functional Theory of Attitudes, nudging, choice editing and different types of paternalism. The results indicated that consumers have diverse attitudes towards paternalistic measures. Food retailers' choice editing strategies aiming to reduce the negative environmental impacts from food consumption were highly encouraged and accepted due to a perceived collectivistic responsibility for maintaining our common earth. On the other hand, food retailers' choice restrictions aiming to reduce the negative health impacts met great disapprovals, due to health limitations being perceived as an insult towards consumers' individual body, identity and liberty. However, eliminations contributing to a greater overall health- and well-being was encouraged only if executed by legitimate and trusted authorities with reasonable, non-profitable driving forces where a democratic society was at the foundation. Choice editing is not an easy strategy for food retailers to apply as it interferes with consumers freedom of choice but is necessary as nudging and sustainability marketing are too soft strategies to steer consumer's often irrational decision-making and will not be enough for a global, sustainable transition. However, food retailers alone cannot bear the responsibility- or be the only leverage point as governmental measures are needed. ; Samhället står inför betydande utmaningar när det gäller att omvandla till hållbara livsmedelssystem där hälsosam mat tillhandahålls, samtidigt som negativ miljöpåverkan minskar. Der är oklart vems ansvar det är att tillhandahålla hälsosam, miljövänlig mat från hållbara livsmedelssystem. Eftersom dagligvaruhandeln har enorm kraft genom sitt utbud och placering, har det hävdats att de skulle kunna styra konsumenterna mot hållbara val. Att skifta fokus från nudging- och hållbarhetsmarknadsföring till att dagligvaruhandeln införde val-begränsningar i butik har därför presenterats för att möjliggöra ett hållbart livsmedelssystem, men har inte genomförts i större utsträckning på grund av rädslan att förlora konsumenter. Syftet med denna studie var att förklara konsumenternas uppfattning om detaljhandelsledda konsumtionsval i butik i syfte att minska de negativa miljö- och hälsoeffekterna av livsmedelskonsumtion. Detta antogs ge insikter om var den upplevda ansvarsbördan låg och på vilka sätt dagligvaruhandeln kan vara en hävstång för att utforma hållbar konsumtion. Studien följde ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt där fyra semistrukturerade, individuella intervjuer med representanter från Axfood, Coop, ICA och WWF samt fyra semistrukturerade fokusgruppsintervjuer med konsumenter. De empiriska studierna genomfördes och integrerades kontinuerligt med en litteraturöversikt. En innehållsanalys av den insamlade empiriska datan genomfördes med hjälp av det teoretiska ramverket; Kahnemans snabba och långsamma tänkande, uppfattningar, funktionell teori om attityder, nudging, valredigering och olika typer av paternalism. Resultaten visade att konsumenterna har olika attityder till paternalistiska åtgärder. Dagligvaruhandelns valredigeringsstrategier som syftar till att minska negativ miljöpåverkan från livsmedelskonsumtion uppmuntrades och accepteras på grund av ett kollektivistiskt ansvar för att upprätthålla vår gemensamma jord. Å andra sidan mötte dagligvaruhandelns valredigeringsstrategier som syftar till att minska de negativa hälsoeffekterna stort motstånd, då begränsningar som rör den individuella hälsan anses vara en kränkning mot konsumentens kropp, identitet och frihet. Elimineringar som bidrog till förbättrad hälsa och ett ökat välbefinnande uppmuntrades endast om de utfördes av en legitim och betrodd stat med rimliga, icke-lönsamma drivkrafter där ett demokratiskt samhälle fortfarande bestod. Slutsatsen var att valredigering inte är en lätt strategi för dagligvaruhandeln att tillämpa eftersom det stör konsumenternas valfrihet, men är nödvändig eftersom nudging och hållbarhetsmarknadsföring är för mjuka strategier för att styra konsumentens ofta irrationella beslutsfattande och kommer inte att räcka för en global, hållbar övergång. Dagligvaruhandeln kan dock inte ensam bära ansvaret då statliga åtgärder också behövs.
Systemet för samhällsskydd och beredskap i Sverige har sedan 1990-talet genomgått en rad förändringar gällande juridik, organisering och ansvar. Framför allt har kommunernas ansvar inom området ökat och systemet har kommit att bli mer beroende av aktörer i lokalsamhället. Dessutom har den enskilde individen fått ett ökat ansvar och är idag en självklar aktör i systemet. De i området styrande principerna om ansvar, likhet och närhet föreskriver att störningar i kommunal verksamhet ska hanteras av de roller som bedriver verksamheten i normala fall. Det innebär att störningar eller kriser i en verksamhet som exempelvis den kommunala omsorgen ska hanteras och lösas av den ordinarie personalen. Systemets ordning i kombination med principerna gör därför att frågor om säkerhet och trygghet för den enskilda omsorgstagaren hamnar i gränssnittet mellan individen och organisationen. Avhandlingens syfte är att fördjupa kunskapen om relationen mellan funktionshindrade personer och kommunens organisation för samhällsskydd och beredskap gällande trygghet och säkerhet. Fyra separata empiriska delstudier från Sverige inkluderas. Den första undersöker kvantitativt vilka riskuppfattningar personer med funktionshinder har och om kan de förklaras av funktionshindret. Övriga tre delstudier är kvalitativa och studerar i tur och ordning: hur risk- och sårbarhetsfrågor manifesteras, erfars och hanteras av funktionshindrade; hur kommuner organiserar för samhällsskydd och beredskap på lokal nivå och vilken roll kommunen har på det lokala verksamhetsfältet för detta; hur en faktisk krisartad situation hanterades på olika nivåer av den kommunala vård- och omsorgen. De två studierna om funktionshindrade visade att tillit är central för hur riskuppfattningen formas och att den vardagsnära säkerheten är viktig. Personerna utvecklar strategier för att hantera sårbarhet genom att undvika vissa situationer, att visa eller dölja sina behov och att lära sig stå ut med att saker och ting tar lång tid. Detta formar ett interpretationsramverk för trygghet och säkerhet där kroppen speglas som objekt och social representation. Därmed kan kroppen likställas med andra sociala representationer och försvaras, riskförebyggas och skademinimeras. Den första kommunstudien visar att den lokala organiseringen av samhällsskydd och beredskap sker på liknande sätt över landet. Däremot har den kommunala funktionen för skydd och säkerhet att hantera olika organisatoriska relationer med distinkt skilda karaktärer. Relationen till den kommunala organisationen i stort är labyrintartad till följd av rationalitetsproblem inom ändamålsenlighet, mål, ansvarsförläggande och uppföljning är oklara eller helt enkelt saknas; relationen till de kommunala förvaltningarna präglas hierarkiproblem genom brist på auktoritet, legitimitet och exekutiv makt; relationen till externa aktörer uppvisar problem med identitet till följd av brist på resurser och tydlig organisation. Den andra kommunstudien visar att den tid-rumsliga inramningen av en störning i det kommunala dricksvattnet skilde sig åt mellan olika organisatoriska nivåer och att störningen hanterades genom en aktiv agens där tillit och handlingsutrymme var avgörande. Avhandlingens övergripande analys utifrån tillitsteori landar i att medan det tidigare systemet för samhällsskydd och beredskap präglades av en instrumentell tillit med vertikalt riktad makt och en problemlösningsförväntan, är dagens system mer beroende av en humanitär tillit med horisontell maktfördelning och med förväntan på att hantera sårbarhet. De tre teoretiska sårbarhetsformerna beroende, oförutsägbarhet och oåterkallelighet föreslås på den lokala samhällsnivån kunna reduceras med de tre tillitsmekanismerna autenticitet, legitimitet respektive transparens. Det är en typ av tillit som är bättre anpassad för det gränssnitt mellan den enskilda individen och organisationen där vi hittar mycket av ansvaret för trygghets- och säkerhetsfrågor idag. ; The Swedish system for civil protection and preparedness has undergone fundamental shifts in legislation, organisation, and responsibility since the 1990s. Most prominently, the responsibility for municipals has increased and the system has become more dependent on actors in the local community. Individuals have also become integral actors in the system with increased responsibility. The guiding principles for this system, formulated by the national authorities, are responsibility, similarity, and proximity. These principles prescribe that disruptions in any regular operations shall be handled by the structure already in place. This means that disturbances or crises, for instance within the local healthcare, should be solved by the regular personnel. The combination of the new location of responsibility and the guiding principles locate the issues of safety and security at the interface between the single individual and the organisation. The aim of this dissertation is to gain knowledge about the relationship between people with disability and the municipal administrative function for civil protection and preparedness regarding safety and security. Four empirical investigations from Sweden are included. The first is a quantitative study investigating the risk perception among disabled people and whether this perception can be explained by their disability. The three remaining studies are qualitative, studying respectively: how risk and vulnerability are manifested, experienced, and managed in everyday life by disabled persons; how local authorities arrange civil protection and preparedness at the local level, and how an uncertain, adverse event was managed at different levels of the local health care. The two studies with disabled persons shows that trust is central to understand how risk perception is shaped and that the safety in everyday life is important. Individuals develop certain strategies in order to deal with vulnerability. The strategies include avoiding certain situations; to show or not to show their needs, and being accustomed to everything taking a long time. These strategies form a framework for interpretation of safety and security where the body is objectified as a social representation. The body thus is comparable to any other social representation and can be subject for defence, mitigation or damage reduction. The first study of local administrations shows that the local civil protection and preparedness is arranged in the same manner all over the country. However, the administrative function for safety and security must deal with distinctly different characteristics in organisational relationships. The relationship with the local administration in general is labyrinthine because of rationality problems regarding adaptation, aims and objectives, assessment and evaluation, and with the allocation of responsibility. The relationship with the different departments within the authority suffers from problems with hierarchy in that the function lacks an authoritative centre, legitimacy, and executive power. The relationship with external entities exhibits problems with organisational identity due to a lack of resources, a distinct organisational character, and autonomy. The second study of local administrations shows that the temporal-spatial framing of a disturbance in the local fresh water system differed between the different organisational levels. Primarily the human agency in terms of trust and a pre-established sphere for action of the personnel was decisive in managing the disturbance. Theories of trust are used to conduct the analysis of the four studies. While the former system for civil protection and preparedness was characterized by an instrumental trust signified by vertical power and expectations of solving concrete problems the present system is more dependent on a so called humanitarian trust signified by horizontal division of power and expectations of managing vulnerability. The conclusion is that at the local level authenticity, legitimacy, and transparency can reduce the three forms of vulnerability: dependency, unpredictability, and irreversibility respectively. This type of trust fits better with the individual-organisation interface in which much of the responsibility for safety and security is allocated today