The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) – a post-corporatist remnant or a quasigovernment hybrid? : A survey of SALAR’s role and influence in two policy processes

The aim of this thesis is to study the role and the influence of the Swedish local government association, SALAR, which is an interest group representing all of the Swedish local authorities and regions. As a result of a change in exercising public power from government to multi-level governance that has reinforced subnational level, including local authorities and regions, SALAR is today a significant actor. It has an intermediating role in the relation between the government and local and regional authorities. SALAR is a hybrid organization that has interest group and governmental characteristics. It is a player competing with other interest groups in a pluralistic system but it is also a corporatist negotiation partner of the government that has a privileged access to central government decision-making. This study uses a comparative case study method analyzing two policy processes to study and describe what kind of role and influence SALAR has in these processes and how the role and the influence of SALAR can be understood from an interest group perspective and a multi-level governance perspective. The described and analyzed policy processes are Kömiljarden, an effectivity effort in Swedish public health care system, and the introduction of the teacher license system in Swedish schools. The empirical material used in this thesis consists of official publications published by public authorities, the parliament and the government as well as interviews with officials representing public authorities, the government and SALAR. The results presented in this thesis show that SALAR in line with previous research on local government associations in other countries, has a role as an intermediator with a privileged access to central government and central decision-making. It is a partner that central government negotiates with and which has the task of informing about the local and regional circumstances. Its influence can also be analyzed in connection to these negotiations. SALAR is in many ways stuck in the structure of decision-making, which is operated by central government while still being in competition with interest groups, such as the teacher unions