Glokal institutionalisering : mötet mellan globala och lokala idéer i kommunal näringspolitik för hållbar utveckling

This thesis treats the globalisation of processes for sustainable development. It focuses, by means of both empirical and theoretical arguments, on the ways in which the United Nations’ thoughts on sustainability have been circulated, adopted and implemented in the economic policies of a Swedish municipality. The theory of sustainable development was launched to the wider society by the World Commission for Environment and Development in 1987. The question is, what happens to the globally formulated idea on sustainable development when it is interpreted locally and eventually put into practice in municipalities and elsewhere? The aim of the first section of the thesis is to describe and analyse the economic policy for sustainable development in Karlskoga. The politico-economic policy in Karlskoga has been roughly the same for the past 30 years. The primary aim of the municipality’s economic policy is to break with tradition and readjust the business structure. The purpose is to achieve a business sector that is less dependent on the financial markets. The analysis illustrates the practical work that sometimes follows proud declarations, in this case regarding sustainable development, but also describe the various processes that are initiated when new influences are introduced in organisations. This study shows that Karlskoga has hardly any fundamental prioritisation problems in the execution of its economic policies. It is the present that matters, and it is economic and social welfare that is being prioritised. The economic policies in Karlskoga can hardly be said to reflect sustainable thinking. This thesis has applied an abductive approach to the issues which have been described. This means that the interpretation of the establishment of an economic policy for sustainable development in the municipality of Karlskoga has been challenged in the second section of the thesis. More specifically, the conclusions have been challenged. The process has been twofold. Firstly, the viewpoint from a potentially more successful case of economic policy development with regards to sustainable work has been examined, followed by the viewpoint from a theoretical perspective. It is evident that Karlskoga comes across as tradition-preserving, fence-sitting and downright passive in its process to outline its municipal economic policy for sustainable development. The municipality of Hällefors, on the other hand, has asserted itself more as a breaker of traditions and has been active and frankly exemplary in its drive to implement the relevant policies. This analysis therefore begins with the similarity in historical development , before looking at which position the respective municipalities choose to take with regards to the economic policy when the sustainable development process is initiated. The question at the heart of the analysis is whether the Hällefors’ dawning success may be used to shed light on Karlskoga’s economic policy, and if so, then in what way. Theoretical formulation on institutionalisation and the spreading of ideas is thus applied in order to interpret the means by which the municipalities adopted the principles of sustainable development, as well as the methods through which it has been incorporated in the politico-economic strategy. It is obvious that the authorities in Hällefors are faced with similar problems to those in Karlskoga. In the first place, it is difficult to reconcile the current sustainable thinking with the politico-economic tradition. The similarities between the municipalities is that it is largely at the formulation stage. Both municipalities are struggling to succeed in translating and formulating the meaning of their sustainability principles. If the strategy in Hällefors is described as dynamically progressive, then the process in Karlskoga could be labelled dynamically conservative. Nevertheless, it is impossible to prove the success or failure of either strategy based on such descriptions. Each designation should be viewed against the background of expressed goals and assessed in relation to the extent to which these have been accomplished. This viewpoint is that we cannot expect to bring about a convergent or homogenised global thinking on sustainable development. This study illustrates that local traditions and conditions significantly influence the manner in which ideas are distributed, adopted and institutionalised in different historical and spatial contexts