Under 1980-talet och början av 1990-talet genomgick den svenska skolan en rad stora reformförändringar. Föraningarna bestod i huvudsak av decentralisering, genom kommunalisering och marknadisering vilka ledde till ett ökat kommunalt ansvar, friskoleetablering med offentlig finansiering samt ökad valfrihet (Dahlstedt & Fejes 2018; Nyhlén 2011). Sedan mitten av 2000-talet har dock skolväsendet i stället reformerats mot ökad centralisering i form av exempelvis skärpt statlig reglering av lärartjänsterna och införandet av Skolinspektionen. Dessa förändringar har inte varit lika dramatiska som 1990-talets utbildningspolitiska systemskifte, men de har påverkat förutsättningarna för rektorers arbete. Detta behandlas också i andra kapitel, men från ett annat perspektiv. I detta kapitel belyser vi hur rektorsrollen har förändrats genom återcentraliseringen. Vi tar avstamp i 1990-talets systemskifte och visar hur decentralisering och marknadisering kom att innebära att nya logiker för styrningen av skolan infördes. Detta ledde till nya förväntningar på rektor. Kapitlet inleds med en genomgång av de decentraliseringsreformer som skolan genomgått. Därefter följer en presentation av de styrlogiker som varit centrala i det svenska skolväsendet och styrningen av densamma. Slutligen diskuteras de reformer som vi menar inneburit en gradvis återcentralisering av skolväsendet och deras bäring på rektorsrollen.

A neglected dimension of housing policy is how municipalities use it as a gatekeeping mechanism to exclude vulnerable groups and thereby control their territory. To examine this topic, we apply a systematic review that draws on the international academic literature and utilizes three bibliometric analyses. First, statistical analysis reveals the field's growth and how it is characterized by publications often combining an impressive set of data and methods. Second, the material is explored through network analysis, emphasizing how a few important journals lead the distribution of knowledge. Finally, a thematic analysis highlights consistency in the detrimental effects of exclusionary policies across different contexts. A distinction between planned excluding practices and policies with such unintended effects are also evident. The analysis underscores the conflict between individual responsibilities and societal obligations, where current policies tend to place substantial burdens on the individual.

This study focuses on an overlooked dimension of housing policy, namely how housing can serve as a mean to exclude vulnerable groups in general, and more specifically immigrants, from long-term settlement. Research in this area is dispersed across various disciplines. To survey the field and explore how local decision-makers can utilize housing policy as a tool for gatekeeping and thus exclude vulnerable groups, we employ a systematic literature review. It consists of two main parts: the first one concentrates on the international literature on the subject, while the second investigates the Swedish context.The international review is based on a sophisticated search in the broader international scholarly literature and is analyzed through (i) statistical analysis, (ii)network analysis, and (iii) thematic analysis. The Swedish part draws on so called grey literature,analyzed through a thematic analysis.The results indicate, among other findings, that policies aimed at excluding vulnerable groups share similarities either in their design or in their consequential effects, regardless of the context in which the policy is applied. It is also evident how the literature distinguishes between policies that intentionally exclude and those that unintentionally exclude. In a Swedish context, the results indicate that municipalities in Sweden interpret their housing supply responsibility differently, leading to inequality and deviations from the principle of equal treatment. The analysis also demonstrates that economic resources and the design of laws and regulations play a crucial role in the outcome of housing policy. Notably, the phenomenon of social dumping occupies a central role in the Swedish literature. Both analyses indicate a norm shift regarding society's responsibility versus individual responsibility in housing supply issues, and that the lack of adequate housing is a significant problem both in Sweden and in many other countries.

Denna studie fokuserar på en förbisedd dimension av bostadspolitiken, nämligen hur den kan användas som ett verktyg för att utestänga utsatta grupper från långsiktig bosättning. Vi fokuserar både på socialt och ekonomiskt utsatta grupper och mer specifikt på personer med flyktingbakgrund. Forskningen inom detta område förekommer i ett flertal olika discipliner. För att överblicka fältet och undersöka hur lokala beslutsfattare kan använda bostadspolitiken som ett verktyg för att agera grindvakter och därigenom utestänga utsatta grupper, tillämpar vi en systematisk litteraturöversikt. Den omfattar två huvuddelar: den första fokuserar på den internationella litteraturen inom ämnet, medan den andra undersöker den svenska. Den internationella översikten bygger på en sofistikerad sökning i den internationella vetenskapliga litteraturen och analyseras (i) statistiskt, genom (ii)nätverksanalyser och genom (iii) en tematisk analys. Den svenska delen utgår från s.k. grå litteratur som inte är granskad genom peer review (som exempelvis avhandlingar, myndighetsraporter) och analyseras endast genom en tematiskanalys. Resultaten visar att olika sorters politik som syftar till att utestänga utsatta grupper har snarlika effekter oavsett i vilket sammanhang som politiken tillämpas. I litteraturen görs en distinktion mellan metoder som avsiktligt utesluter respektive när detta blir en oavsiktlig konsekvens. Att kommuner i Sverige tolkar sitt bostadsförsörjningsansvar olika, leder till ojämlikhet och avsteg från likabehandlingsprincipen. Analysen visar också att lagar och reglers utformning samt ekonomiska resurser spelar en viktig roll i utfallet av förd bostadspolitik. Inte minst intar fenomenet social dumpning en central roll i den svenska litteraturen. Noterbart i analysen av både den svenska och internationella litteraturen är att det skett en normförskjutning kring vad som är samhällets ansvar kontra individens ansvar i bostadsförsörjningsfrågan, men också att bristen på adekvata bostäder förutsatta grupper är ett allvarligt problem både i Sverige och i många andra länder.

Modern welfare states struggle with fragmented policies and siloed governments, as well as with the need to deal with wicked problems. We argue that addressing such problems from the perspective of central government can be facilitated by notions of joined-up government that, combined with vertical aspects of modern governance, provide a basis for analysis. To embark upon such challenges, we examine policy integration and policy coordination within the complex area of Swedish migration policies in light of the European migrant crisis. Through a content analysis of an extensive qualitative material (interviews and documents), we show that policy integration is weakly associated with joint objectives and decision-making. As a contribution to prior knowledge in the field, we emphasize the unintuitive finding that counteracting siloism and fragmentation in Swedish migration policy is not achieved through coherent governance ranging across tiers, functions, and sectors but mainly at subnational levels through policy coordination relying on a bottom-up approach.

This study examines variations in the perception of local integration policy among Swedish immigrants by focusing on community size as an influential determinant for how such policies are experienced. The experiences concern immigrants' relations to two core actors of Swedish integration policy: the public employment service (PES) and the municipalities. The empirical material consists of 28 narrative interviews, and a comparative strategy is applied to categorise participants based on whether they reside in a large or small municipality. While immigrants residing in small municipalities have more of a positive experience of the municipality and a negative view of the PES, interviewed immigrants residing in large municipalities have positive views of the PES and more ambiguous experiences with the municipality.

Examines the roles played by government at the local level in migration and integration policy

Uses Sweden to examine the importance of local efforts and multilevel relations in this area of policy

Builds on theories of governance to assess the regulation of the entrance and integration of immigrants

Electricity is critical to almost all other critical infrastructure. Disturbance in the power supply would likely have devastating effects on all areas in society. Assurance of electricity to vital societal functions requires policies to manage power shortages. Such policies exist in only a handful of countries. This study focuses on one of those countries. In Sweden, the policy for power shortages, Styrel, includes all levels of society, all responsible institutions, and expert organisations. The policy is governed from the top down. We are primarily interested in how Styrel affects municipalities in their planning processes and supports decision making at the local level. The study is an interview study with key informants at the municipal level. The results show that the policy is supportive under certain conditions, depending on how the actors carried out previous processes. Lack of knowledge and support, and time pressure, characterise the process, although participants also have a sufficiently positive attitude to allow a more relaxed method of handling the process. The study provides insights on challenges that municipalities must manage in their work with policies for critical infrastructure protection.

This study aims to map, locate and make visible the everyday experiences of newly arrived immigrants in government-sponsored integration activities and to trace how these experiences are linked to changes in policy. The study pays particular attention to the dynamic nature of integration and draws links between personal, organisational and policy domains while analysing shifting integration policies from the standpoint of immigrants. Swedish integration policy has undergone vast changes during recent years as the government implements one of the largest changes in Swedish history, beginning in 2010. With this came an emphasis on employment and workfare over welfare. Consequently, the rhetoric of integration in Sweden also changed from what in municipalities was called an introduction to a sense of establishment. By examining the subjective views of immigrants, we discuss the lived experiences of individuals who are subjected to and employed in different occupations due to various integration regimes.

This article examines the Swedish experience of network governance in managing flooding and high water flows. The aim was to study the regional responsibility for coordinating risk awareness and risk analysis in terms of information, prevention and actions. The focus was on differences between the Swedish river groups from the coordinators perspective, including their organization and approaches to decision-making. The conclusions reached here are based on interviews with the coordinators of county administrative boards. We argue that the absence of central guidelines in the organization of the river groups and the fact that they are enforced by the government rather than spontaneously formed have had implications for the networks’ effectiveness and for exchanges of experience among the networks.