Stefan Svallfors

Södertörn University & Institute for FuturesStudies, Stockholm

Presentation at the ”Political and Economic Inequality” conference, ETH Zürich, 28-29 Jan 2016

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, interestorganizations, think-tanks, PR agencies

Political secretary, political advisor, research officer, press chief, political director, political consultant, etc

Policy professionals

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

From 3500 pages via 100 to the quotes in the book

The project

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 did we want to know?

1. POLICY PROFESSIONALS IN SWEDISH POLITICS: THE CONSTRUCTION OF A RESEARCH PROBLEM2. WHO ARE THE POLICY PROFESSIONALS? 3. A VIEW ON THE RESEARCH FIELD 4. THE POLICY PROFESSIONALS – WHAT DO THEY ACTUALLY DO?5. WONKS AND HACKS: POLICY PROFESSIONALS FROM A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE6. THE POLICY PROFESSIONALS AND THE LEGITIMACY OF POLITICAL POWER 7. HOW DID IT HAPPEN? THE FORMATIVE MOMENTS8. THE POLICY PROFESSIONALS AND THE FUTURE OF POLITICSMETHODS APPENDIX: APPROACHES, LIMITATIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS

Makt utan mandat [Power without mandate]

Organisations. National level.

Trade unions Interest organizations PR agencies Government Offices

Akademikerförbundet SSR Aktiespararna Agenda PR (all departments except FO)

Byggnads Almega Andréasson PR

Civilekonomerna Almega (Vårdföretagarna) Aspekta Party offices

DIK Almega IT-Telecom Burson Marsteller Centerpartiet

Fackförbundet ST Fastighetsägarna Coast Communications Folkpartiet

Finansförbundet Företagarna Cohn & Wolfe Kristdemokraterna

GS Facket Handelskammaren (Stockholm) Diplomat Communications Miljöpartiet

Handelsanställdas förbund Hyresgästföreningen Geelmuyden-Kiese Moderaterna

HRF KFO Grayling Socialdemokraterna

IF Metall Livsmedelsföretagen Greatness PR Vänsterpartiet

JUSEK LRF Gullers Centerpartiet

Kommunal Plast- & Kemiföretagen Halvarsson & Halvarsson

LO PRO Hill & Knowlton

Läkarförbundet Skattebetalarnas Förening ISAK Think tanks

Lärarförbundet SKL JKL Arbetarrörelsens tankesmedja

Lärarnas Riksförbund Skogsindustrierna JMW Arena idé

Naturvetarna SPF, Sveriges Pensionärsförbund K-Street Captus

SACO Svensk Handel KREAB Fores

SEKO Svenskt Näringsliv Lotsen Kommunikation Global Utmaning

ST Sveriges Byggindustrier Mix PR IHE

Sveriges Ingenjörer Transportgruppen Narva PR Institutet för näringslivsforskning

TCO Villaägarnas Riksförbund NavPR Liberala Ohlininstitutet

Transport Nordic Public Affairs Ratio

Unionen Paues Public Affairs Sektor3

Vision Prime SNS

Progress PR Timbro

Rud Pedersen Consulting

Rådhusgruppen

Scantech Strategy Advisors

Springtime

Veritas

Westander

Organizational type Occupational titles

Government Offices Statssekreterare, Stabschef, Planeringschef, Politiskt sakkunnig, Talskrivare, Pressekreterare, Mediasamordnare,

Presschef

Party offices Kanslichef, Chef, Verksamhetschef, Stabschef, Chef/ansvarig för policyområde, Politisk sekreterare, Politiskt

sakkunnig, Ekonomisk rådgivare, Talskrivare, Handläggare (Kristdemokraterna, Moderaterna), Valkretssekreterare,

Utredare, Chefsekonom, Budgetchef, Pressekreterare, Presskontakt, Informatör, Kommunikatör,

Informationssekreterare, Online campaign manager, Strategic Advocacy - Digital Media

Trade Unions Förbundsdirektör, Generalsekreterare, VD, Kanslichef, Vice-VD, Chef/ansvarig för policyområde, Utredningschef,

Samhällspolitisk chef, Policyexpert, Näringspolitisk expert, Sakkunnig, Näringspolitisk sakkunnig, Politisk sekreterare,

Talskrivare, Utredare, Analytiker med politisk inriktning, Chefsekonom, Ekonom, Seniorekonom, Opinionsbildare,

Public Affairs, Public Affairs-ansvarig, Lobbyist, Projektledare opinionsbildning och påverkan, Pressekreterare,

Presskontakt, Informatör, Kommunikatör, Informationssekreterare, Informationschef, Presschef,

Kommunikationschef/strateg

Interest Organizations Förbundsdirektör, Generalsekreterare, VD, Kanslichef, Vice-VD , Chef/ansvarig för policyområde, Utredningschef,

Samhällspolitisk chef, Stabschef, Policyexpert, Näringspolitisk expert, Sakkunnig, Näringspolitisk sakkunnig, Politisk

sekreterare, Talskrivare, Utredare, Analytiker med politisk inriktning, Omvärldsanalytiker, Chefsekonom,

Chefekonom, Ekonom, Seniorekonom, Opinionsbildare, Public Affairs, Public Affairs-ansvarig, Lobbyist, Ansvarig

politikernätverk, Ansvarig för politisk strategi, Projektledare opinionsbildning och påverkan, Senior policy advisor,

Pressekreterare, Presskontakt, Informatör, Kommunikatör, Informationssekreterare, Pressansvarig, Informationschef,

Informationsansvarig presschef, Kommunikationschef/strateg

Think Tanks Chef, Direktör, VD, Generalsekreterare, Kanslichef, Utredningschef, Samhällspolitisk chef, Programchef,

Programansvarig, Forskningsledare, Policyexpert, Näringspolitisk expert, Sakkunnig, Näringspolitisk sakkunnig,

Politisk sekreterare, Projektledare, Utredare, Forskare, Omvärldsanalytiker, Pressekreterare, Presskontakt, Informatör,

Kommunikatör, Informationssekreterare, Informationschef, Informationsansvarig, Presschef,

Kommunikationschef/strateg

PR agencies Managing director, President, CEO, VD, Juniorkonsult, Seniorkonsult, Konsult, Partner, Key account manager, Account

Director, Ägare, Grundare, Senior Partner, Projektledare, Utredare, Medarbetare, Advisor, Senior Advisor, Rådgivare,

Senior Rådgivare

Regional Kanslichef (Stockholm), Biträdande kanslichef (Stockholm), Politisk sekreterare, Politiskt sakkunnig chefsstrateg(Region Skåne), Landstingsrådssekreterare (SSL), Planeringschef (SSL), Pressekreterare, Kampanjmakare,Informationschef, Presschef

Local Kanslichef (Stockholm), Biträdande kanslichef (Stockholm), Politisk sekreterare, Politiskt sakkunnig

utredningssekreterare (Göteborg), Stadssekreterare (Göteborg), Budgetchef (Göteborg), Borgarrådssekreterare

(Stockholm), Pressekreterare, Informationschef, Presschef

2000-2500 persons (with a wider definition perhaps 3500)

Relatively young (median 40 compared to MPs 50+)

Gender mixed (two exceptions)

University educated

Political science /Economics

Stockholm/Uppsala

Short periods of employment

Decent salaries (but not exorbitant)

Few have been elected (and remunerated) politicians

The composition

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 toSaudi Arabia, the Nuon affair…)

The accountability problem

Why so established and uncontroversial?

Rehn/Meidner (Success story I)

Olof Palme (Success story II)

The end of corporatism + the EU referendum

The establishment: formative moments

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

The need for regulation and increased transparency

Democracy?

Set of papers based on current material

New project: ”Subterranean politics”

Backwards: the policy professional developmenthistory

Forwards: follow our cohort

Upwards: EU

Sideways: country-comparative, how does the political-institutional framework matter?

Comparative case study: the welfare-industrialcomplex

To be continued…