Subterranean Politics: World of Policy Professionals
Stefan Svallfors
(Swedish Research Council 2015-2019)
People employed by different organizations in order
to affect policy and politics
Neither elected politicians, nor public administrators
/ civil servants
Grown in numbers and importance
Government Offices, political parties, interest
organizations, think-tanks, PR agencies
Political secretary, political advisor, research officer,
press chief, political director, political consultant, etc
Policy professionals
The work of policy professionals as
a new and particular form for political influence
The
occupation and career choices
of policy professionals
The
particular labour market
for policy professionals
What do we want to know?
Funded by the Swedish Research Council 2012-14
An explorative, curiosity-driven project
Cross-disciplinary
Quantitative mapping (N=1468)
Semi-structured interviews (71) (2,5 hours on average)
Interviews with elected politicians, civil servants,
recruiters (21) (1 hour on average)
Almedalen-ethnography
”Makt utan mandat: De policyprofessionella i svensk
politik” [Power Without Mandate: Policy professionals in
Swedish Politics] + 3 papers
The Swedish project
Funded by the Swedish Research Council 2015-2019
Backwards: the policy professional development history
Forwards: follow our cohort
Upwards: EU
Sideways: country-comparative, how does the political-
institutional framework matter?
Comparative case study: the welfare-industrial complex
Contextualize the findings about policy professionals to
arrive at “a historically informed style of social inquiry
that favours properly contextualized generalisations”
New project:
”Subterranean politics”
A diffuse role: politician or administrator?
Power as driving force: to have an influence, to be
where it happens
Mass media the most important arena: schizophrenia
Negative picture of the practices of representative
democracy
Knowledge most important resource: problem
formulation, process expertise, information access
The occupational role
A diffuse role: politician or administrator?
Power as driving force: to have an influence, to be
where it happens
Mass media the most important arena: schizophrenia
Negative picture of the practices of representative
democracy
Knowledge most important resource: problem
formulation, process expertise, information access
The occupational role
No ”political nobility”
Recruitment: formal vs. informal
Generic skills more important than content
The way out – from the ”golden cage”
PR agencies as capital exchanges
PR as dirty and spineless
No international trajectory
The careers
The ”Almedalen week”in Visby as a trade fair (and a
ritual)
Hacks and Wonks
Complex loyalties: person, organization, cause
The culture
Obscurity: the constitutional role and grounds for
legitimacy unclear
Invisibility: both in teaching and in the mass media
Unaccountability: who is responsible? (weapons to
Saudi Arabia, the Nuon affair…)
The accountability problem
No ”Éminence grise” or ”Shadow elite”
Power without mandate:
disturbing similarities with pre-
democratic modes of organizing political power
Dahl’s fears
Entrepreneurial ethos
Further increase in party leadership domination
The increased direct impact of economic resources
New channels for political competence and engagement
Need for increased transparency and regulation
Democracy?
No ”Éminence grise” or ”Shadow elite”
Power without mandate:
disturbing similarities with pre-
democratic modes of organizing political power
Dahl’s fears
Entrepreneurial ethos
Further increase in party leadership domination
The increased direct impact of economic resources
New channels for political competence and engagement
Not our task to suggest something (but perhaps a
commission)
Democracy?
-feel free to interrupt for clarifications – but beware that the information you ask for may well be on the next slide
-leave points for discussion until the end – promise to leave some time for discussion
The world and work of policy professionals, a unique form of political influence shaping policy and politics. Explore the role, career choices, and labor market of these professionals through Swedish research initiatives.
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Presentation Transcript
SUBTERRANEAN POLITICS: THE WORLD AND WORK OF POLICY PROFESSIONALS Stefan Svallfors (Swedish Research Council 2015-2019)
Policy professionals People employed by different organizations in order to affect policy and politics Neither elected politicians, nor public administrators / civil servants Grown in numbers and importance Government Offices, political parties, interest organizations, think-tanks, PR agencies Political secretary, political advisor, research officer, press chief, political director, political consultant, etc
What do we want to know? The work of policy professionals as a new and particular form for political influence The occupation and career choices of policy professionals The particular labour market for policy professionals
The Swedish project Funded by the Swedish Research Council 2012-14 An explorative, curiosity-driven project Cross-disciplinary Quantitative mapping (N=1468) Semi-structured interviews (71) (2,5 hours on average) Interviews with elected politicians, civil servants, recruiters (21) (1 hour on average) Almedalen-ethnography Makt utan mandat: De policyprofessionella i svensk politik [Power Without Mandate: Policy professionals in Swedish Politics] + 3 papers
New project: Subterranean politics Funded by the Swedish Research Council 2015-2019 Backwards: the policy professional development history Forwards: follow our cohort Upwards: EU Sideways: country-comparative, how does the political- institutional framework matter? Comparative case study: the welfare-industrial complex Contextualize the findings about policy professionals to arrive at a historically informed style of social inquiry that favours properly contextualized generalisations
The occupational role A diffuse role: politician or administrator? Power as driving force: to have an influence, to be where it happens Mass media the most important arena: schizophrenia Negative picture of the practices of representative democracy Knowledge most important resource: problem formulation, process expertise, information access
The careers No political nobility Recruitment: formal vs. informal Generic skills more important than content The way out from the golden cage PR agencies as capital exchanges PR as dirty and spineless No international trajectory
The culture The Almedalen week in Visby as a trade fair (and a ritual) Hacks and Wonks Complex loyalties: person, organization, cause
The accountability problem Obscurity: the constitutional role and grounds for legitimacy unclear Invisibility: both in teaching and in the mass media Unaccountability: who is responsible? (weapons to Saudi Arabia, the Nuon affair )
Democracy? No minence grise or Shadow elite Power without mandate: disturbing similarities with pre- democratic modes of organizing political power Dahl s fears Entrepreneurial ethos Further increase in party leadership domination The increased direct impact of economic resources New channels for political competence and engagement Need for increased transparency and regulation
