Welfare Mix as a Contested Terrain: Political Positions on Government–Non-profit Relations at National and Local Levels in a Social Democratic Welfare State

Abstract

As welfare states are increasingly challenged and replaced by welfare mix models, new ideas about the functions of non-profit and voluntary organisations (NPVOs) provoke political conflicts that should be reflected in research. This paper explores the significance of political and ideological dimensions to present changes in the Swedish welfare state regarding NPVOs as welfare services providers. Investigating both national and local level, the study addresses political as well as practical implications of the reframing of NPVOs as service providers rather than being associated with a voice function. The article shows extensive differences between national and local levels as contentious ideological cleavages at national level are dormant in local level politics. Variations in the way relations to NPVOs are structured in practice at local level appear related to factors other than political dimensions. The findings support the development of an analytical framework that reflects political dimensions and allow for empirical focus that includes national and local level politics and practices. Resumen Dado que los estados de bienestar están siendo cada vez más cuestionados y sustituidos por modelos mixtos de bienestar, las nuevas ideas sobre las funciones de las organizaciones voluntarias y sin ánimo de lucro (NPVO, del inglés Non-profit and voluntary organisation) provocan conflictos políticos que deben ser reflejados en la investigación. El presente documento explora la importancia de las dimensiones políticas e ideológicas para presentar los cambios en el estado de bienestar sueco en relación con las NPVO como proveedoras de servicios de bienestar. Al investigar tanto el nivel nacional como el local, el estudio aborda las implicaciones políticas, así como también las prácticas, de la reformulación de las 1602Voluntas (2015 ) 26:1601 -1619 123 NPVO como proveedoras de servicios en lugar de asociarlas a una función de voz. El artículo muestra las grandes diferencias entre los niveles local y nacional, ya que las divisiones ideológicas polémicas a nivel nacional están latentes en la política a nivel local. Las variaciones en la forma en la que están estructuradas las relaciones con las NPVO en la práctica a nivel local aparecen relacionadas con los factores aparte de las dimensiones políticas. Los hallazgos apoyan el desarrollo de un marco analítico que refleje las dimensiones políticas y permita un foco de atención empírico que incluya la política y las prácticas a nivel nacional y local.

Toward a New Social Contract? The Participation of Civil Society in Swedish Welfare Policymaking, 1958–2012

“…Following that shift, various regulations upholding the neoliberal model of market-based regulation were prepared for consultation, including the law of freedom of choice that granted citizens the right to choose welfare providers, as well as more generous refinements of private organizations in, for example, the Swedish public school system. Thus, the results reveal the potential importance of ideology for understanding the participation of CSOs in national welfare policymaking in Sweden (Kendall 2010;Johansson et al 2015).…”

“…Long held as a prime example of an advanced welfare state that relies heavily on universal government welfare programs, Sweden currently hosts a welfare market and a powerful combination of public management reforms, both of which have created new conditions for civil society in the welfare state arrangement (Vamstad 2007;Anheier and Kendall 2012;Johansson et al 2015). In response, leading scholars have heralded Sweden's new social contract as signaling a transformation of the basic principles of how countries should implement and control social services.…”

Sport as a Means of Responding to Social Problems : Rationales of Government, Welfare and Social Change

“…Importantly, the socialdemocratic regime of welfare is changing through and by the actual practices of provision and intervention undertaken and conducted (rather than shifts on the policy level) (cf. Johansson, H., Arvidsson & Johansson, S. 2015). …”

“…In any case, this involves a kind of entrepreneur model, where public welfare institutions purchase services on contract from private agencies (Hartman 2011a). On the other hand, Sweden has witnessed an increase in the involvement of non-profit actors from civil society in welfare service provision (Johansson, H., Arvidsson & Johansson, S. 2015;Johansson, H., Nordfeldt & Johansson, S. 2015). Although recognized for its state-centred welfare provision, Sweden has a large voluntary sector and civil society relative to other countries (Svedberg & Olsson 2010;Svedberg & Vamstad 2006).…”

“…But, looking back at the history of the welfare state, civil society has played an important role in philanthropy and in advocating social reforms (Johansson, H., Nordfeldt & Johansson, S. 2015;Lundström & Wijkström 1997). In some ways, the development involves new roles for non-profit and voluntary organisations, moving from political agents and advocates of social reform and justice into service providers (Johansson, H., Arvidsson & Johansson, S. 2015;Kings 2011). The development aligns with a "renewed interest for community work in Scandinavia" (Turunen 2009, p. 51) and in Sweden -with an emphasis on casebased interventions that target groups and individuals limited to a geographical area or social unit sharing relations and identity (Turunen 2009).…”