With power in their hands : a study of the creation of the Rural Development Program at the regional level in Sweden
Within the European Union, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) affects the governance of rural areas. The CAP operates through various policy processes at multiple levels, from EU to regional level. In Sweden, the Swedish Board of Agriculture (SBA) is responsible for the national rural development...
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| Formato: | H1 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés sueco |
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SLU/Dept. of Urban and Rural Development
2015
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| Sumario: | Within the European Union, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) affects the governance of rural areas. The CAP operates through various policy processes at multiple levels, from EU to regional level. In Sweden, the Swedish Board of Agriculture (SBA) is responsible for the national rural development program (RDP), and the county administrative boards (CAB) are responsible for regional RDPs. The purpose of this thesis is to study the construction of the regional programs, through one case study and one text analysis. The case study is based on six interviews with officials from two CABs. The focus is on the officials’ stories of their work inter-preting and transforming the EU’s RDP to the Swedish regional action plans for rural development. Governmentality, the bureaucratic field and ideology are the main concepts used to analyse the empirical material in this study. Power, various forms of capital and rationalities, as well as resources and technologies are important aspects that interweave the main concepts. The case study presents how the power relationships between the various actors in the preparation process of the regional RDPs differ. An important premise is that language shapes reality. This means that the language used in the regional RDPs affects ideas on how rural de-velopment should be formed, and, in effect, the reality of the programs. Through language so-called discursive practices are created. The text analyses of the regional RDPs are inspired by critical discourse analysis, in order to distinguish the similarities and differences highlighted by the authors. Text analysis highlights the techniques and methods used by officials arguing for perspectives of reality in their counties. This thesis presents the power relations between different actors in the work of regional RDPs, and criticizes the maintenance of “esoteric knowledge” regarding, for example, techniques and languages of policy processes. Esoteric knowledge contributes to a movement that distinguishes people instead of creating a democratic society. |
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