Från motsatsförhållande till symbios? Miljöpolitik och välfärd i ekonomiska upp- och nedgångar

Abstract

[From clash of interests to symbiosis? Environmental policy and welfare in times of economic boom and recession] Global challenges such as climate change, the free flow of international capital, and growing political transnational cooperation, together with two major financial crises, have put pressure on the national welfare state during recent decades. During the same period, the concepts of sustainable development and ecological modernization have contributed with an understanding of economic growth and environmental awareness as complementary. In that context, Karin Edberg’s article discusses whether environmental policy can be said to be part of the modern Swedish welfare state. Edberg makes use of the annual inaugural speeches given by the prime minister in connection with the opening of the Swedish parliament. This implies that the article’s results rather than reflecting political practice points at issues of political interest and their articulation. Edberg shows how environmental questions have fluctuated between being a de-ideologized and normalized part of the political landscape, and a political watershed. Today, the idea of sustainable development is the glue that connects environmental policies with the welfare state – at least on a rhetorical level – and which makes the environment a consensus issue. Publication history: Published original. (Published 7 October 2016) Citation: Edberg, Karin (2016) “Fran motsatsforhallande till symbios? Miljopolitik och valfard i ekonomiska upp- och nedgangar”, in Arkiv. Tidskrift for samhallsanalys , issue 6, pp. 7–37. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13068/2000-6217.6.1