Think Tanks: New Organizational Actors in a Changing Swedish Civil Society

Åberg, Pelle; Einarsson, Stefán; Reuter, Marta

doi:10.1007/s11266-019-00174-9

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Since the 1990s, however, Sweden has moved in a more pluralist direction (Öberg et al, 2011), which coincides with the increase in the number of think tanks. Although the first think tanks in Sweden can be identified as early as the 1930s, the rapid expansion of this type of institution did not happen until 1999 (Åberg, Einarsson, & Reuter, 2019). Today, there are approximately 40 think tanks in Sweden, together forming a cluster of organizations aiming to advancing policymaking (Sörbom, 2018).…”

Section: Case Selection and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proximity and distance: Think tanks handling the independence paradox

Jezierska

Sörbom

2020

Governance

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The credibility of think tanks is grounded in their image as independent experts. In order to gain authority to act, think tanks must be seen as independent, but in order to exert influence and gain funding, think tanks are forced to compromise this independent image. We focus on how think tanks handle this independence paradox. How do think tanks use different resources to construct an independent image? The aim of the article is conceptual, as we develop a theoretical model of the independence paradox. This conceptual work is based on empirical analysis of attempts by think tanks in Poland and Sweden to create independence while maintaining influence. The two desirables central for think tanks, independence and influence, force them to make strategic choices about their relations with various actors. We conclude that the processes of keeping distance and arranging proximity are at the core of the independence paradox.

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Section: Case Selection and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proximity and distance: Think tanks handling the independence paradox

Jezierska

Sörbom

2020

Governance

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“…In the Swedish and Dutch cases, larger CSOs had more resources to fund external consultancies for their advocacy work (cf. Åberg et al, 2019;Öberg & Svensson, 2012). The professionalization of civil society, understood as employing more experts (Salamon, 1999), in these contexts obviously affects the division of labor and the degree of tension between professionals, with a clear tension within the political and policy-professional CSO field regarding in-depth knowledge production versus framed, communicable messages.…”

Section: The Enhanced Position Of Communicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do communicators take over? Mediatization and conflicts in civil society

Mellquist

2023

Politics & Policy

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The article investigates internal strategies and struggles in civil society organizations' (CSOs') policy advocacy work from the vantage point of policy professionals by using the concepts of field, symbolic capital, and logics. A main claim is that mediatization acts as a strategic‐tension mechanism within a CSO, putting communicators at the center of policy units, which in turn is consequential for the strategies chosen for the organization's policy work. In this way, mediatization as a process celebrates certain professionals and strategies as particularly relevant, creating frustration among employees not specializing in communication. The study identifies a trend for organizations to put more resources and influence into communication and less into actual policy analysis. This article combines research on organizational logics, policy professionals, and mediatization by drawing on 38 interviews with, and ethnographic work among, policy professionals in Sweden, Latvia, and the Netherlands. Related Articles Selling, Niels, and Stefan Svallfors. 2019. “The Lure of Power: Career Paths and Considerations among Policy Professionals in Sweden.” Politics & Policy 47(5): 984–1012. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12325. Svallfors, Stefan. 2016. “Out of the Golden Cage: PR and the Career Opportunities of Policy Professionals.” Politics & Policy 44(1): 56–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12149. Svallfors, Stefan, Erica Falkenström, Corrie Hammar, and Anna T. Höglund. 2022. “Networked Reports: Commissioning and Production of Expert Reports on Swedish Health Care Governance.” Politics & Policy 50(3): 580–97. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12462.

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“…The process of professionalization occurs in organizations having a specialized division of labor, in which employed staff and management control communication and access to information and few members actively participate (Binderkrantz 2009;Diefenbach 2019;albareda 2020). While not focusing on policy professionals, earlier research on demands for the efficacy and professionalization of CSOs in Scandinavia has suggested that organizations tend to deal with these demands by relying on external expertise from, for example, think tanks, external consultants, and PR firms (öberg & Svensson 2012;Åberg, einarsson & Reuter 2021). another way of dealing with conflicting demands within CSOs has been to use decoupling practices (Åberg 2013, 2015arvidson & Lyon 2014;Heras-Saizarbitoria 2014;Brandtner 2021).…”

Section: Professionalization and Membership In Civil Societymentioning

confidence: 99%

Policy professionals in civil society organizations

Mellquist

Sörbom

2023

SoFo

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Drawing on 24 interviews with policy professionals in 10 Swedish member-based civil society organizations (CSOs), and observations of policy professionals in three of these, we investigate CSOs from the perspective of their policy teams. This paper theoretically addresses how policy professionals relate to the members in whose name they work. This article extends the literature on civil society professionalization by conceptualizing the conflicts pertaining to policy professionals’ work in CSOs and ways of managing these conflicts. We argue that, ordinarily, CSO policy professionals working to influence public policy respond to conflicting logics and myth-like institutional demands for strong and direct influence of member interests by maintaining face and investing in the myth of member centrality. Based on how policy professionals address these issues, we suggest that organizations respond to conflicting institutional pressures and myths via decoupling strategies, discreetly avoiding member concerns while investing in the membership myth, ultimately fostering organizational hypocrisy. Conceptually, the paper contributes by connecting the literatures of civil society professionalization and new institutional theory to the burgeoning literature on policy professionals.

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Think Tanks: New Organizational Actors in a Changing Swedish Civil Society

Cited by 10 publications

References 31 publications

Proximity and distance: Think tanks handling the independence paradox

Proximity and distance: Think tanks handling the independence paradox

Do communicators take over? Mediatization and conflicts in civil society

Policy professionals in civil society organizations

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