Det nya styrelseskicket. En studie av "medialobbying" i det post-korporativa Sverige

Abstract

The new system of government. A study of ‘media-lobbying’ in post-corporative Sweden. Political scientists agree that corporatism is declining in Swedish politics. The tighs between interest groups and the state are loosening, and the number of actors involved in politics has increased dramatically in the last decades. Leaving corporatism behind does not necessarily imply that organised interests, in total, will have less impact on Swedish politics. It is widely believed, at least implicitly, that interest groups have compensated the loss of institutionalised influence, through corporatist channels, by using other paths of influence — media relations and informal lobbying. In this essay the well-established assumption that ‘medialobbying’ is a new important form for exercising power in Sweden, is analysed theoretically and tested empirically. Research on agenda-setting and interest groups in the US shows that media has a vital role for organisations in a pluralist political system, much more so than in a system of corporatism. On the other hand, there are research-results claiming that organised interests often have difficulties in changing their dominant political strategies and tactics. Hence, theoretically, it is an open question whether Swedish groups have managed to adapt to the new pluralist environment, for example by developing their media strategies. The empirical study suggests that the importance of interest groups' media activities has been somewhat exaggerated. The author also finds that the relations between journalists and organisations may be better described as ‘mediacorporatism’ than ‘medialobbying’, due to the high degree of institutionalisation.