Suchergebnisse

This article discusses the steadily stronger emphasize on diversity arguments which underscore 'gender difference' and diversity's 'utility' as arguments in support of gender equality in Norwegian public debate. In both party political, femocratic and media mediated debates on gender equality, rights-based justifications seem largely to be replaced by a discourse prioritizing utility/profitability arguments. The article provides a series of examples of these strands of arguments in support of gender equality policies, and outlines a set of normative problems connected with the mixture of gender difference and utility based justifications. In contrast, we argue that comprehensions of 'gender equality' rather must be based on a principle of rights where understandings of gender differences are restricted to conditions for access: 'an equal right to equal participation'. This discussion is supplemented with an analysis of attitudinal data from two surveys conducted as part of the Norwegian Power and Democracy Study (1998-2003), a large scale Elite Survey and a corresponding omnibus. One set of questions in both of these surveys asks people how they prioritize between different types of arguments in support of gender equality. The analysis indicates that the 'diversity pays' line of argumentation combined with a 'rhetoric of difference' mainly receives support on elite levels of Norwegian society.

This article discusses the steadily stronger emphasize on diversity arguments which underscore 'gender difference' and diversity's 'utility' as arguments in support of gender equality in Norwegian public debate. In both party political, femocratic and media mediated debates on gender equality, rights-based justifications seem largely to be replaced by a discourse prioritizing utility/profitability arguments. The article provides a series of examples of these strands of arguments in support of gender equality policies, and outlines a set of normative problems connected with the mixture of gender difference and utility based justifications. In contrast, we argue that comprehensions of 'gender equality' rather must be based on a principle of rights where understandings of gender differences are restricted to conditions for access: 'an equal right to equal participation'. This discussion is supplemented with an analysis of attitudinal data from two surveys conducted as part of the Norwegian Power and Democracy Study (1998-2003), a large scale Elite Survey and a corresponding omnibus. One set of questions in both of these surveys asks people how they prioritize between different types of arguments in support of gender equality. The analysis indicates that the 'diversity pays' line of argumentation combined with a 'rhetoric of difference' mainly receives support on elite levels of Norwegian society.

Den norske debatten om kinesiske investeringer og sikkerhet har gjennomgått et betydelig taktskifte på få år. Fra en situasjon hvor det i liten grad var en debatt, og hvor kritiske røster i hovedsak angikk bekymringer om arbeidsmiljøutfordringer, har kinesisk næringsvirksomhet i Norge nå også blitt en del av den sikkerhetspolitiske debattsfæren. To særtrekk gjør det norske eksempelet til en spesielt interessant studie av de fellesnordiske spørsmålsstillingene diskutert i denne Fokusspalten. Norsk økonomi har tjent særegent godt på det kinesiske veksteventyret, men Norge har også stått i en særegent vanskelig politisk stilling overfor Kina gjennom det siste tiåret. Kontrasten mellom disse to faktorene har stått sentralt i norsk Kina-debatt. Ikke desto mindre har den norske offentlige debatten rundt kinesiske investeringer vært relativt positiv. Dette har blant annet vært drevet frem av gode erfaringer blant norske selskaper som har blitt kjøpt opp av kinesiske partnere. Den offentlige samtalen har dog i nyere tid begynt å relatere til spørsmålet gjennom en politisk og sikkerhetsmessig vinkling. Dette er et taktskifte som ikke skyldes hendelser knyttet til eksisterende kinesisk aktivitet i Norge, men heller en norsk gjenspeiling av bredere globale og regionale trender. Huaweis rolle i den kommende utbyggingen av 5G-nettverket har vært et spesielt viktig bindeledd til denne internasjonale opinionsdreiningen.
Abstract in English:Norway's Debate about Chinese Investments: From Benevolence to CautionThe debate in Norway regarding security concerns related to Chinese investments has seen a notable change in character over a short period of time. From a situation where there was little discernible debate at all, and where negative coverage of Chinese investment flows were mainly concerned with working environment issues, Chinese capital flows to Norway have now also become part of the debate on national security. Two particularities make the case of Norway especially interesting with regards to the broader Nordic debates over the issues discussed in this Fokus section. The Norwegian economy has been particularly well placed to benefit from the extraordinary Chinese economic growth, but Norway has also been in a particularly problematic political position towards China over the last decade. The contrast between these two factors has been a structuring trait of the Norwegian China debate. Nevertheless, the Norwegian public debate on China has been relatively positive over a long period of time. This has been given impetus by the positive experiences reported from the Norwegian enterprises that have been the target of Chinese acquisitions. However, lately, the public debate has increasingly come to regard the issue also through a political and security-related lens. This changing character is not due to specific events concerning Chinese activities in Norway, as much as being a reflection of broader regional and global trends. The question of Huawei's role in the coming construction of the 5G network has been a particularly important driver in this regard, as well as conductive link to the international change in opinion.

"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."

Artiklen analyserer politiske processer og politiske, faglige og offentlige debatter om religionsundervisningen i Danmark og hvordan disse har influeret de normative bestemmelser for religionsfagene og religionslæreruddannelserne i historisk og nutidig lys. ; Religion education (RE) in the public school in Denmark, as in many countries, is often subject to political, public and professional debate, relating not only to different ideas about RE's potential contribution to Allgemeinbildung, religious and/or moral formation and citizenship education, but also to reactions or responses to what is perceived as challenges posed by supranational processes such as globalization, individualization, and migration, including a new and growing Muslim presence. Based on an academic Study of Religions approach, defined in contrast to confessional RE, the article outlines relevant political processes and political, public and professional debates on RE, and analyzes the way they have set their mark in past and present Danish education legislation, national curricula and guidelines issued by the state for RE and for the training of RE teachers. Whereas a study-of-religions approach has long been seen as a 'natural' framework for RE in the upper-secondary school, RE in the compulsory school (as well as in teacher education for these schools) has traditionally been linked to theology, and is often seen as an instrument in political and ideological efforts to promote and secure a social and national-cultural identity, an identity defined with reference to the majority religion. RE is thus thrust into a key role in on-going 'culture wars'.

I 2016 og 2017 skabte kvindesvømning – et tilbud, der tiltrækker mest, men ikke udelukkende etniske minoritetskvinder – intens debat i hele Danmark. Denne artikel fokuserer på den politiske debat i Aarhus Byråd, der førte til en beslutning om, at der i kommunens svømmehaller ikke må være kønsopdelt svømning i den offentlige åbningstid. Formålet med artiklen er at undersøge, hvordan en fritidsaktivitet som kvindesvømning blev til et problem i 2016, som krævede en langvarig debat og et politisk indgreb. Med udgangspunkt i Nira Yuval-Davis' begreber om politisering af tilhørsforhold viser vores analyse, hvordan forestillinger om danskhed og dertilhørende danske værdier gøres til centrale argumenter i den politiske debat, som fører til politisk regulering af en velbesøgt sundhedsfremmende fritidsaktivitet. Debatten om kønsopdelt svømning understreger, at værdier såsom individuel valgfrihed eller religionsfrihed, som indtil for nyligt prægede den politiske praksis i nordiske velfærdsregimer, afløses af danskhed som den altoverskyggende værdiramme.


ENGELSK ABSTRACT

Verena Lenneis & Sine Agergaard:
The debate about gender-segregated swimming: belonging and Danishness

In 2016 and 2017, women-only swimming – an initiative that attracts mostly, but not exclusively minority ethnic women – caused considerable discussion across Denmark. This article focuses on the year-long political debate in the city council of Aarhus which subsequently led to a ban on women-only swimming activities during public opening hours in the municipality's indoor swimming pools. The aim of this article was to examine why a leisure time activity such as women-only swimming became a 'problem' in 2016, and how it became subjected to political regulation. Drawing on Nira Yuval-Davis' politics of belonging, our analysis shows how imaginations of 'Danishness' and, in particular, Danish values became central arguments in the political debate that led to the regulation of a well-attended and health-promoting leisure activity. The debate on gender-segregated swimming emphasizes that values such as freedom of choice or freedom of religion, which until recently have dominated the political practice in Nordic welfare regimes, are replaced by 'Danishness' as the paramount political concern.

Keywords: gender, ethnicity, religion, belonging, integration

Det er nu 30 år siden, at Luc Boltanski og Laurent Thévenot (B&T) for alvor præsenterede sig på den bredere sociologiske scene med deres fælles værk De la justification (DJ) (1991), som i dag fremstår som en af sociologiens nyklassikere. Analyserammen i DJ har vist sig særdeles sejlivet og har sat ringe i vandet, så også filosoffer, politologer, økonomer, geografer og historikere har taget den op til debat – og ikke mindst brugt den enten i dens oprindelige form eller i teoriudviklende arbejde. Formålet med artiklen er at kortlægge de mest fremtrædende internationale debatter samt se på anvendelsen i en dansk kontekst. Vi fremhæver de særligt interessante udviklingsveje, som kan lede læseren (studerende så vel som forskere) videre ind i et stadigt spirende forskningsfelt. Vi identificerer fire overordnede tilgange til at arbejde med retfærdiggørelsesmodellen: 1) socialteoretiske debatter og udvidelser af selve retfærdiggørelsesmodellen; 2) etnografisk inspirerede studier af menneskers kritik og retfærdiggørelse; 3) diskursive analyser af offentlige debatter og 4) brug af retfærdiggørelsesmodellen i genealogiske analyser. Afslutningsvis opsummerer vi, hvilke analysetilgange og udviklingsveje vi finder særlig interessante, og argumenterer for, hvorfor vi mener, DJ stadig er aktuel i dag – 30 år efter udgivelsen.

Artiklen tager teoretisk afsæt i den franske, pragmatiske sociologi og demonstrerer, hvordan denne kan benyttes til at skitsere en pluralitet af forskellige moralske positioner i danske offentlige debatter om aktivering af arbejdsløse. Et bredt uddrag af den offentlige debat om såkaldt nytteaktivering analyseres, og på baggrund heraf skitseres fire forskellige forståelser af den legitime sociale orden, som aktører trækker på i den pågældende debat. Det drejer sig om henholdsvis en industriel, en markedsorienteret, en projektorienteret og en orden orienteret mod medborgerskab. Artiklen demonstrerer, hvordan aktører, der trækker på forskellige moralske principper, gør positive moralske domme over nytteaktivering som praksis. Hermed udfordrer artiklen en af feltets hidtidige antagelser, nemlig at de forskellige positioner i aktiveringsdebatter fungerer som gensidigt begrænsende.


ENGELSK ABSTRACT:

Mathias Herup Nielsen: Activation of the Unemployed Seen Through the Lens of Pragmatic Sociology

This paper demonstrates how French pragmatic sociology can be applied to grasp a plurality of orders of worth that come into play when actors engage in disputes about activation policy programs targeting unemployed people. Drawing on an archive consisting of around 300 articles from a Danish public dispute about a specific activation policy program, the article describes four different sets of principles of justice that actors rely on in the actual dispute. These four sets of principles are described as the industrial polity, the market polity, the projective polity and the civic polity. The article shows how a pragmatic sociological approach can serve as an alternative to monistic approaches, stressing that a plurality of orders of worth are present in contemporary workfare debates. In addition, the article concludes that actors, relying on very different orders of worth, all seem to justify the specific activation policy program.

Keywords: pragmatic sociology, Luc Boltanski, justification, activation, unemployment.

Etter å ha gått seirende ut av «klimavalget 2021», står den rødgrønne regjeringen overfor oppgaven med å sikre Norges grønne omstilling. I den offentlige debatten står gjerne argumenter om global solidaritet og miljøhensyn fremst i begrunnelsene for nødvendigheten av en grønn omstilling, mens motstandere av et raskt skifte fokuserer på de negative økonomiske konsekvensene de mener et raskt skifte vil få for Norge. Denne artikkelen søker å nyansere dette bildet, og argumenterer for et bredere kost-nytte-perspektiv som også tar høyde for diplomatiske kostnader ved å fortsette med oljeleting, samt de økonomiske konsekvensene av en treg omstilling. Selv om man holder konsekvensene av klimaendringene helt utenfor vurderingen, argumenterer vi for at usikkerheten rundt fremtidig oljepris og omdømmerisikoen Norge løper ved å fortsette å basere økonomien på ikke-fornybare energikilder, burde være gode argumenter for å revurdere Norges oljepolitikk.
Abstract in English:Norway's Oil Dilemma After Glasgow: An Immoral Argument for a Rapid Green TransitionAfter winning the "2021 climate election", Norway's new government faces the task of ensuring Norway's green transition. In the public debate, global solidarity and environmental considerations are often at the forefront of arguments for the necessity of a rapid green transition, while opponents of a rapid transition tend to focus on the negative financial consequences they believe such a change will have for Norway. This article seeks to nuance this debate, and argues for a broader cost-benefit perspective that also takes into account diplomatic costs of continuing with oil exploration, as well as the economic consequences of a slow transition. We argue that, even if not considering other consequences of climate change, the uncertainty surrounding future oil prices and the reputational risk Norway runs by continuing basing the economy on non-renewable energy sources should be good enough arguments to reconsider Norway's oil policy.

Det skjer en dreining i utviklingspolitikken som kommer til uttrykk i form av mindre oppmerksomhet på konkrete endringer i lav- og mellominntektsland, og økte ambisjoner om politiske og institusjonelle løsninger på «globalt» nivå. I praksis innebærer dette et brudd med bistandens originale formål og etos, og gjør sannsynligvis bistanden mindre nyttig for bistandens målgrupper. Utviklingen kan forklares med intern dynamikk i utviklingspolitikken og insentiver blant viktige aktører, og er muliggjort delvis fordi aktører som tidligere bidro til å bremse slike avvik fra bistandens originale formål, selv vender oppmerksomhet mot det «globale». Utvikling får lite politisk oppmerksomhet, så lite at vi ikke egentlig vet om dette er en ønsket utvikling fra bevilgende myndigheter (parlamentet) eller ikke. Artikkelforfatteren tar til orde for at det tas grep som sikrer at eventuelt fortsatt dreining av utviklingspolitikken mot globale fellesgoder blir gjenstand for offentlig debatt og politisk bevisste valg.
Abstract in EnglishThe Precursors and Consequences of the RevolutionA trend is seen in Western development policy, in which the attention of key actors drifts away from tangible improvements in low- and medium income countries, towards policy and institutional changes in the global domain, including global public goods. In practice, this is a drift away from the original purpose and ethos of development aid, likely to make aid less useful for its target groups. This article explains the trend by internal dynamics in the development industry, incentives among key actors to move towards 'the global', and that actors who used to protest against a 'mission drift' in aid have themselves turned their attention towards 'the global'. The ongoing changes receive little attention, to the extent that we do not really know if they are wanted by parliaments or not. The author suggests mechanisms to ensure that a possible further drift of resources, from development aid's original purpose towards global common goods, can only happen as a result of explicit political consideration.

Forholdet mellem udviklingen i landdistriktskommunerne og bykommunerne – mellem centre og periferi – får stigende opmærksomhed i den offentlige debat og på de politiske dagsordner. Det har således også været et centralt tema i debatten op til det seneste folketingsvalg.