Suchergebnisse

This thesis focuses on the territorial dimension of democracy by studying the division of Swedish municipalities. It consists of two parts focusing on two types of changes to the division of municipalities: amalgamation and secession. The consequences of a series of amalgamation reforms are the starting point for the first part. The question is if the new structure of the municipalities following from amalgamation, e.g. increased size, changed centre-periphery relations and an increased number of urban areas within municipalities, has had any importance for local democracy. The structural factors are looked at in the light of three aspects of democracy: municipalities as community units, their democratic legitimacy and political participation. This study shows that amalgamations can have negative effects for democracy and the conclusion is that the optimal division, from a democratic point of view, is one of small municipalities with only one dominating urban area in each municipality. As for secession, the study shows that few citizens want their part of the municipality to secede, except for those who live in parts that have had an application for secession rejected in recent years. The most important reason for supporting secession is that it would improve democracy. The main reason for opposing secession is that it would lead to decreased efficiency. The study also shows that certain conditions may change the attitude to secession, but these conditions cannot explain why a higher proportion than average is positive to secession in municipality parts that have applied for secession in recent years.

In recent years evaluation has become a very important element in the public administration. The Swedish state administration to a significant extent both evaluates and is evaluated. This means that the evaluating state is at the same time the evaluated state. In this dissertation the institutionalization of evaluation is studied in a field within which this development has been particularly lively and interesting, namely the field of higher education. The dissertation focuses on evaluation activity that has been carried out in conjunction with central public authorities within higher education: the Office of the Chancellor of the Universities and Colleges in Sweden, the National Swedish Board of Universities and Colleges, and the Office of the University Chancellor, and encompasses the period 1964-1995. A newly revived research tradition within political science – historical institutionalism – is used as a perspective and a methodology. Since the application of this tradition has not yet been fully tested, another purpose is to examine the practical utility of this analytical tool and the kind of knowledge that it produces. The dissertation thereby combines the fields of education policy, evaluation research and institutional theory. The beginning of the institution has been dated to the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s. In the dissertation the forces behind the initiation of the institution are taken up. Events and developments in the field that have influenced the further development of the institution have been identified and analyzed. Developments reveal that the institution has been stable during the entire period of time under study, despite some changes. The use of historical institutionalism as a perspective and methodology has proven satisfactory on a general level. However, special solutions have been required as problems and ambiguities have arisen. The dissertation concludes with reflections on the practical utility of historical institutionalism in political science research.