Papers by Dr. Johan Nordensvard
Low Carbon Development, 2013
Finnish Journal of Social Research
What role does storytelling play in right-wing populist parties? With a focus on the Finns Party ... more What role does storytelling play in right-wing populist parties? With a focus on the Finns Party and its leaders Timo Soini (1995–2017) and Jussi Halla-aho (2017–2021), this article depicts the narrative struggle that ensued when the Finns Party joined government in 2015 and exposes the challenges populist storytellers face when engaged in governing coalitions. Whereas Soini argued in favour of joining government and actively participating in broad, consensus-based policymaking, Halla-aho focused on directly challenging government by targeting migration as a key concern for party voters. These tensions culminated in the breakup of the party, where a small faction continued in government until 2019 while the mother party returned to the opposition. A storytelling perspective shows the importance of a credible truth-telling narrative in understanding far-right populist electoral success and demonstrates the challenges government responsibility presents for populist narrative credibility.
List of figures and tables viii Notes on contributors ' x Acknowledgements xv List of acronyms an... more List of figures and tables viii Notes on contributors ' x Acknowledgements xv List of acronyms and abbreviations xvi Preface xxi FRAUKE URBAN AND JOHAN NORDENSVARD
This book explores the social implications and challenges of low-carbon development. The argument... more This book explores the social implications and challenges of low-carbon development. The argument of the book is that a broad understanding of low-carbon development is essential for mitigating climate change and enabling development in a carbon-constrained world, but there are risks that low-carbon development might come at a price that is both social and economic. These risks need to be carefully assessed and reduced. The main aim of the book is to explore, critically analyse and propose different ways of understanding low-carbon development from a social perspective in both developed and developing countries. The author uses concepts such as low-carbon development, social policy, sustainable development and environmental justice to understand the social implications of low-carbon development projects. The book first elaborates the need to understand the social issues and challenges of low-carbon development in both developed and developing countries. It then discusses five contemporary challenges of low-carbon development: * the social consequences of Chinese hydropower dams in the Mekong region; * the cost of the transition to renewable energies such as wind energy in Germany; * the challenges of carbon offsetting in Brazil; * the nexus of fuel-inefficient housing and fuel poverty in England; * solar power for refugees in Africa. The book fills a crucial gap for researchers, postgraduates, practitioners and policy-makers in the fields of climate change, development and social policy. Johan Nordensvard is a Lecturer in Social Policy at the University of Southampton, UK.
Policy Press eBooks, Jul 4, 2018
This chapter investigates the relationship between far-right populism and social policy. The chap... more This chapter investigates the relationship between far-right populism and social policy. The chapter argues that an approach anchored in framing and policy narratives will yield new understandings of how far-right populist discourses have come to challenge social democratic and neoliberal welfare narratives. The new narrative challenges and denigrates the economic and political elite as self-serving and corrupt, claiming to represent the interest of the ‘people’ instead. In defining ‘people’, the interests of certain societal groups are prioritised on the bases of culture or ethnicity. Importantly for social policy, this chapter argues, in this universal social rights and social citizenship are reframed in ethno-nationalist and welfare chauvinist terms. The chapter draws upon the case of Sweden in order to briefly exemplify the discursive strategies at play.
Social Policy & Administration, Nov 24, 2014
This book brings together papers on ageing policy originally presented at the Stein Rokkan Centre... more This book brings together papers on ageing policy originally presented at the Stein Rokkan Centre for Social Studies, Norway, in 2012. A common theme across a number of the chapters is the importance of ideas (alongside institutions) to policy-making in this area. This is a welcome emphasis, given the danger of relying exclusively on institutional logics and pathdependency, which can make change hard to explain. A number of chapters make reference to Campbell's (1998) distinction between different types of ideas, with some focusing in particular on 'framing ideas', which are used make policy reforms acceptable to the public. Following the introduction, the first two chapters focus on the development of ideas at the macro level. Alan Walker and Liam Foster examine Active Ageing, an influential concept in policy discourses that seeks to promote activity in older age. Nanna Kildal and Even Nilssen likewise discuss framing ideas used by international organizations regarding health and long-term care policy. Both chapters identify EU and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) economic 'productivist' policy discourses; framing ideas are based on the perceived economic burden of population ageing. In contrast, the World Health Organization (WHO) is said to consider activity in older age more broadly, and frames ideas in relation to the quality of life, autonomy and independence of older people. Walker and Foster are keen to promote a version of active ageing that is more closely aligned to the latter thinking. In the remaining chapters, the emphasis on ideas in policy development is perhaps strongest in the chapter by Rune Ervik and Ingrid Helgøy, exploring how demographic ageing is addressed in policy in the UK and Norway. This draws usefully on Kingdon's (1995) agenda setting theory and Béland's (2005) policy ideas; it argues that while there are some similarities in terms of how the problems are understood (related to pressures on public finances), solutions vary considerably because of the different policy/political environments (or 'streams'). Attempts to build legitimacy through consensus are identified in a number of the chapters. Chrsitof Schiller discusses the 'new activation compromise' in Germany, which drew together a diverse coalition that has made it possible to cut pensions, close early retirement pathways, strengthen activation and, as a consequence, increase employment levels.
This report outlines the results from the research project Food for Urban Life and Localities (FU... more This report outlines the results from the research project Food for Urban Life and Localities (FULL) funded by Formas (2020-02864). The research set out to learn how COVID-19 response strategies in six cities (Stockholm, London, Wuhan, Singapore, Sydney, and Seoul) have facilitated access to food for vulnerable groups and how new food supply solutions have emerged through social and technological innovations. This report presents the case of each city in turn and pauses on the role of community-based organisations, ad- hoc community initiatives and municipalities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report provides a detailed discussion of local or community-level responses in cities that aim to provide access to food through social and/or technological innovations. The lessons learned are important for the Swedish context in the case of similar events that challenge local access to food. The research collected data through qualitative and quantitative methods, and also made use of the...
Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy
The aim of this article was to use an interpretivist approach to analyse the state–citizen nexus ... more The aim of this article was to use an interpretivist approach to analyse the state–citizen nexus in general and the conflict between civil and social rights imposing restrictions on people’s freedom of movement during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Nordic countries: Sweden (restrictions were voluntary and relied on nudging and individual implementation), Norway (restrictions of movement were for everyone and was enforced by authorities), and Finland (restrictions of movement were for the capital region and was enforced by authorities). Sweden focused more on upholding the civil rights vis-à-vis social rights whereas in Norway and Finland social rights have trumped civil rights in the face of the pandemic. Thus, the analysis suggests that the Nordic countries cannot be understood as monoliths in all respects. The article thereby contributes to a greater understanding of how the Nordic governments prioritise civil and social rights differently when they are forced to choose.
What can we learn from civil society responsesto COVID-19 food supply? The COVID-19 pandemic has ... more What can we learn from civil society responsesto COVID-19 food supply? The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in food shortages, lockdowns, and restrictions onmovement, which have completely reshaped the food system and the interaction betweenpeople and their food environment. The pandemic has highlighted that while states arestruggling to handle all the impacts of the pandemic, civil society organizations have taken onan important role in filling the gaps and mitigating the shocks from the pandemic. Actionstaken by civil society and the market have shown that the existing welfare structures createdby states are unable to handle the impact of a pandemic when it comes to critical tasks suchas food supply for vulnerable groups.
The Emerald Handbook of Luxury Management for Hospitality and Tourism, 2022
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Papers by Dr. Johan Nordensvard