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Drawing on Charles Tilly's theory of social categorization, this article deals with how some client-governed organizations in Sweden strive to evade the phenomenon of stigmatizing social categorization, and consequently the creation of durable inequality. First, the historical role played by voluntary organizations in defining and treating social problems is outlined. The key notion here is 'categorization'. Second, the paper describes how the emerging client organizations struggled to redefine social categories, claiming that the real social problems were social inequality and social exclusion. Third, the example of Basta Co-operative is employed in order to discuss Tilly's notion that organizational innovation is one way to reduce durable inequality. The account of Basta Co-operative is based on a qualitative case study. Basta is a user-driven co-operative with the aim of assisting people with drug problems. The foundation of rehabilitation is self-help and user-controlled enterprise.

Intro -- Preface -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- Notes on Contributors -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- 1: Civil Society Elites: An Introduction -- Introduction -- Civil Society in Transformation -- Aim and Purpose -- Key Contributions -- Themes of Investigation -- Civil Society Elite Composition -- Civil Society Elite Reproduction -- Civil Society Elite Integration -- Contestation of Civil Society Elites -- References -- Part I: Civil Society Elite Composition -- 2: The Danish Civil Society Elite 1910-2020: Continuity, Reproduction and Integration -- Introduction -- Literature on Civil Society and Elites -- Historical Danish Civil Society -- Operationalisation and Method -- A Civil Society Elite Prosopography -- The Causes of Civil Society Elites -- The Composition and Reproduction of Civil Society Elites -- The Integration of Civil Society Elites -- Conclusion -- References -- 3: Mirroring the Masses? A Cross-National Comparison of Civil Society Elite Composition -- Introduction -- Method -- Different Civil Society Contexts -- Civil Society Regimes -- Conditions of Engagement of Civil Society Elites -- Socio-Demographic Background of Civil Society Elites -- Attitudes of Civil Society Elites -- Conclusion -- Appendix -- References -- 4: Organisational, Reputational, and Visible Leaders: A Comparison of Three Approaches to Civil Society Elite Identification -- Introduction -- Methods of Elite Identification -- The Positional Method -- The Reputational Method -- The Visibility Method -- Three Types of Elites -- The Organisational Elite -- The Reputational Elite -- The Visible Elite -- Conclusion -- References -- Part II: Civil Society Elite Reproduction -- 5: Consecrating Civil Society Elites in Europe: Examining Civil Society Prizes -- Introduction -- Theorising Prizes and Awards -- Data and Methodology -- Selection of Countries.

This open access book introduces a groundbreaking concept - civil society elites - and serves as an essential resource for scholars, researchers and students interested in the complexities of power and influence within contemporary civil societies. Through a series of unique empirical studies, the authors offer a comprehensive examination of the individuals occupying the upper echelons of influential civil society organisations and movements. By delving into the factors that propel individuals into key positions and examining the connections between civil society leaders within and across sectors, the book offers insight into the mechanisms that shape access to powerful positions in civil societies. As a reflection of current debates on elites and populism, the book furthermore explores the expression and conceptualisation of counter-elite positions and criticism of civil society elites. With its original approach, the book serves as a catalyst for further research into inequalities, power structures and elites within civil societies.

"Notwithstanding its many successes since 1945, the project of European integration currently faces major difficulties, from financial crises and mass immigration to the impending departure of the UK from the European Union. At the same time, these challenges have spurred civil society organizations within and across Europe, revealing a shared public sphere in which citizens can mobilize around refugee rights, opposition to austerity policies, and other issues. Europeanization in Sweden assembles new empirical research on how these processes have played out in one of the continent's wealthiest nations, providing insights into whether, and how, the "Swedish model" can guide European integration"--

The article explores the relationship between emotions, collective identity and mobilisation in conservative social movements through an analysis of the World Congress of Families' (WCF) 13th international conference, held in Verona in March 2019. WCF promotes Christian family values and brings together anti-gay, anti-feminist and anti-abortion activists, religious leaders, and politicians from around the world. We attended the congress and base our analysis on observations and theories on social movements and emotions. Both positive and negative emotions as well as symbols and metaphors were used as building blocks in the emotional work that holds this conservative movement together. In order to provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms we show how passive emotions are turned into active, how the differences between 'us' and 'them' are constructed, and how the combination of positive and negative emotions helps motivate action.

In this article we examine the emergence of social worker training in the Nordic countries and discuss the possible effects that the social democratic welfare regime has had on such training. We also discuss the development in recent decades of the academisation of the training and the establishment of social work as a subject of research and teaching. The early history of social worker education is based on archival material, national inquiries and secondary sources. Our presentation of the recent history of social work education is based on the responses to a questionnaire sent to teachers of social work in 33 Nordic social work programmes, and on a survey of course syllabi and prospectuses. It is also based on the reading lists for the social work courses in these programmes.

Summary European welfare states have been subject to significant restructuring including a general trend towards downsizing the role of the state, and to a greater extent engaging other actors in social policy and social services. While comparative welfare research often overlooks the distinction between for-profit and non-profit actors, third sector research emphasizes the different logics underlying these two types of non-state actors. The purpose of this article was to analyse Nordic and Italian social workers' attitudes towards a greater involvement of for-profit and non-profit actors in social work. The empirical base for the study is nation-wide surveys among social workers in four Nordic countries and in Italy answered by a total of 8,272 social workers. Findings In general, social workers perceived privatization in terms of for-profit organizations more critically than privatization through voluntary sector actors. Their attitudes towards privatization were only partly connected to which welfare model they worked within. Age and working sector of the respondents were other factors of significance. An important finding was that there are different explanatory factors behind positive attitudes towards for-profit and non-profit privatization, which indicate that social workers do not interpret the role of for-profit and non-profit organizations in the same way. Application The article shows that reforms involving subsidiarization, privatization and marketization of social welfare services should take account of the different logics underlying for-profit and non-profit actors and the different levels of trust that these actors enjoy among practitioners.

Background The new European pharmacovigilance legislation has been suggested as marking the beginning of a new chapter in drug safety, making patients an important part of pharmacovigilance. In Sweden since 2008 it has been possible for consumers to report adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to the Medical Products Agency (MPA), and these reports are now understood as an increasingly valuable contribution in the monitoring of safety aspects in medicines. Already in 2002 it was possible to report experiences with medicines to the non-profit and independent organization Consumer Association for Medicines and Health (KILEN) through a web-based report form with an opportunity to describe ADR experiences in free text comments. The aim of this study was to qualitatively analyze the free text comments appended to consumer reports on antidepressant medication. Methods All reports of suspected adverse reactions regarding antidepressant medications submitted from January 2002 to April 2009 to KILEN's Internet-based reporting system in Sweden were analyzed according to reported narrative experience(s). Content analysis was used to interpret the content of 181 reports with free text comments. Results Three main categories emerged from the analyzed data material: (1) Experiences of drug treatment with subcategories (a) Severe psychiatric adverse reactions, and (b) Discontinuation symptoms; (2) Lack of communication and (3) Trust and distrust. A majority of the reports to KILEN were from patients experiencing symptoms of mental disturbances (sometimes severe) affecting them in many different ways, especially during discontinuation. Several report included narratives of patients not receiving information of potential ADRs from their doctor, but also that there were no follow-ups of the treatment. Trust was highlighted as especially important and some patients reported losing confidence in their doctor when they were not believed about the suspected ADRs they experienced, making them attempt to discontinue their antidepressant treatment on their own. Conclusions The present study indicates that free text comments as often contained in case reports directly submitted by patients can be of value in pharmacovigilance and provide important information on how a drug may affect the person using it and influence his or her personal life. ; Funding Agencies|Stiftelsen Kempe-Carlgrenska Fonden||Folksams Forskningsstiftelse||Stiftelsen Claes Groschinskys Minnesfond||Stiftelsen Lars Hiertas Minne||Elsa Lundberg och Greta Flerons fond for studier av lakemedelsbiverkan||

This article sets out to identify a culture of advocacy that has come to characterise Swedish civil society, formed around a long-standing tradition of close and cordial relations between civil society organisations, popular movements, and state and government officials. We argue that Swedish civil society organisations (CSOs) have been allowed to voice critique against public actors and policies and are expected to do so. Based on a large survey of Swedish CSOs, this study contributes unique data on what type of advocacy strategies CSOs practise, and the range of advocacy strategies that organisations employ. The analysis also explores norm-breaking behaviour, such as holding back criticism of public authorities. The results reveal a complex picture of a culture of advocacy: we find patterns of intense political activity among organisations that admit they hold back in their criticism of public authorities and the use of a wide range of advocacy strategies. The article contributes to and challenges established advocacy research and analyses established patterns of organisations' advocacy activities with the symbolic acts of breaking norms, as an analytical approach for the study of advocacy strategies in general and advocacy culture in particular.

This article sets out to identify a culture of advocacy that has come to characterise Swedish civil society, formed around a long-standing tradition of close and cordial relations between civil society organisations, popular movements, and state and government officials. We argue that Swedish civil society organisations (CSOs) have been allowed to voice critique against public actors and policies and are expected to do so. Based on a large survey of Swedish CSOs, this study contributes unique data on what type of advocacy strategies CSOs practise, and the range of advocacy strategies that organisations employ. The analysis also explores norm-breaking behaviour, such as holding back criticism of public authorities. The results reveal a complex picture of a culture of advocacy: we find patterns of intense political activity among organisations that admit they hold back in their criticism of public authorities and the use of a wide range of advocacy strategies. The article contributes to and challenges established advocacy research and analyses established patterns of organisations' advocacy activities with the symbolic acts of breaking norms, as an analytical approach for the study of advocacy strategies in general and advocacy culture in particular. ; Sociologisk Forsknings digitala arkiv