Tillit, handlingskraft och folkvilja - Två synsätt på politikens organisering i kommunsverige

This paper sets out to analyze tensions between two different political and administrative models in Swedish local democracy; the ‘traditional model based on a hierarchical and highly formal structure with specialized agencies and the ‘centralized model’ in which formalized and specialized committees have been dismantled, and all strategic and operational responsibilities have been transferred to the center board. Previous research concludes that a transition from the former to the latter results in a radical reduction of the number of elected officials and a shift in power from the political to administrative level. This paper argues that the former model represents a traditional Weberian type of organization and the latter should be seen in the wake of recent reforms in public sector characterized by a “Whole Of Government approach”. There are tensions between the models in terms of meta steering versus detailed controlling and coordination versus specialization. Furthermore, it seems the centralized model puts emphasis on the output side of democracy whereas the traditional model is more input oriented. The paper is motivated by the ongoing debate regarding administrative challenges facing Swedish local democracy