Subterranean Politics: World of Policy Professionals
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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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