Legitimacy, Institutional Change, and the Politics of Public Administration in Sweden

DOI10.1177/019251219301400406
Date01 October 1993
AuthorJon Pierre
Published date01 October 1993
Subject MatterArticles
387-
Legitimacy,
Institutional
Change,
and
the
Politics
of
Public
Administration
in
Sweden
JON
PIERRE
ABSTRACT.
Public
administration
in
Sweden
has
been
the chief
vehicle
for
the
rapid
postwar
development
toward
an
extensive
welfare
state.
However,
during
the
1980s,
as
a
result
of
increasing
criticism
about
inertia
and
bureaucratization,
several
major
reforms
were
initiated
to
"renew"
the
public
sector.
These
reforms
included
a
wide
range
of
different
measures,
including
deregulation,
privatization,
and
"liberalization"
experiments
at
the
local
level.
This
paper
argues
that
these
reforms,
along
with
increased
overall
efficiency
of
the
public
sector,
fulfilled
a
number
of
political
and
admin-
istrative
functions.
They
were
aimed
at
enhancing
the
overall
legitimacy
of
the
public
administration
and
also
at
displacing
conflicts
triggered
by
fiscal
problems
to
the
local
political
level.
As
a
result,
the
1980s
witnessed
local
governments
becoming
increasingly
important
suppliers
of
public
services.
At
the
same
time,
state
public
administration
agencies
adopted
a
more
subtle
and
observant
role
than
they
had
previously
played.
Introduction
Despite
the
many
significant
changes
that
have
taken
place
in
Swedish
politics
during
the
past
decade
or
so,
Sweden
remains
to
many
foreign
observers
the
epitomy
of
welfare-state
politics,
consensualism,
and
egalitarianism.
Some
look
at
what
is
believed
(in
some
cases
perhaps
also
hoped)
to
be
the
enduring
strength
of
social
democracy
as
a
political
warranty
for
the
continued
existence
of
the
welfare
state
(Milner,
1989).
Others
see
the
significance
of
local
government
as
being
the
key
defender
of
welfare
programs
(cf.
Goldsmith,
1992),
and
yet
others
turn
to
the
consensual
style
of
Swedish
policy-making
(Elder
et
al.,
1982)
as
proof
that
public
policy
will
continue
to
cater
for
all
segments
of
society,
including
the
most
needy.
While
much
of
this
remains
essentially
the
case,
it
also
ties
Sweden
in
a
slightly
unfortunate
way
to
an
image
that
was
much
more
valid
some
10-15
years
ago
than
it
is
today.
The
fiscal
crisis
that
hit
most
Western
democracies
during
the
past
two

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