Kommunikation, medborgarskap och deltagardemokrati
(2008) In Lund Studies in Media and Communcation 10.- Abstract
- This is a study of civic communication in a municipal setting. In the south Swedish municipality of Helsingborg operated Civic Committees between 2003 and 2006. The Civic Committees organized different kinds of activities together with the citizens out in the different neighbourhoods of the municipality, such as open meetings, neighbourhood walks, workshops for the future and meetings with specific interest organizations. The alleged purpose of these meetings was to create a constructive and respectful dialogue between politicians and inhabitants. Problematic issues and concerns for the future development of the neighbourhood were to be defined and discussed.
The aim of the study is to understand the Civic Committee, their... (More) - This is a study of civic communication in a municipal setting. In the south Swedish municipality of Helsingborg operated Civic Committees between 2003 and 2006. The Civic Committees organized different kinds of activities together with the citizens out in the different neighbourhoods of the municipality, such as open meetings, neighbourhood walks, workshops for the future and meetings with specific interest organizations. The alleged purpose of these meetings was to create a constructive and respectful dialogue between politicians and inhabitants. Problematic issues and concerns for the future development of the neighbourhood were to be defined and discussed.
The aim of the study is to understand the Civic Committee, their establishment, their communicative practices as well as citizens motivations for participating in their activities. The research is particularly focused on understanding the increasing importance of dialogue in the Civic Committee practices, and the construction of citizenship in those.
The Civic Committees positioned the citizens as rationally communicative, rather than instrumental consumers of municipal services. The instrumental rational focus on self-interest has been attacked from different directions, not least from ideas of deliberation and the transformation of interest through political discourse. Attracted to deliberative ideals of dialogue, the Civic Committees aimed at reorienting civic political engagement back towards the parliamentary municipal institutions. Thus a discursive struggle between instrumental and communicative conceptions of citizenship was taking place in Helsingborg.
In the activities organized by the Civic Committees, the politicians and the municipal officials emphasized the future, everyday life, active participation and unselfish engagement. By using these storylines, the politicians and the municipal officials wanted to raise citizens’ horizons to issues of a broader and a more visionary character, and to facilitate a constructive dialogue with a deliberative character. How did citizens themselves create meaning with their participation in the Civic Committees activities, and construct themselves as citizens? Prominent positions that were used were; being an established resident, with a sense of belonging to, and being proud of the neighbourhood, interested in its history, parent, middle aged, seeking security and paying taxes. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Det görs en rad försök till demokratisk förnyelse ute i kommunerna. I denna avhandling är det min ambition att analysera ett sådant försök; medborgarutskotten i Helsingborg.
De frågeställningar avhandlingen behandlar är 1) vad ligger bakom samtalets betoning i medborgarutskottens deltagardemokratiska aktiviteter? 2) Hur positioneras kommuninvånare som medborgare då medborgarutskottens tjänstemän och politiker fokuserar på samtalet som kommunikationsform? 3) Genom vilka medborgarpositioner skapar deltagare mening med sitt deltagande? I avhandlingen kommer jag fram till 1) att deliberativa idéer och en kommunikativ medborgarsyn ligger bakom samtalets betoning i... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Det görs en rad försök till demokratisk förnyelse ute i kommunerna. I denna avhandling är det min ambition att analysera ett sådant försök; medborgarutskotten i Helsingborg.
De frågeställningar avhandlingen behandlar är 1) vad ligger bakom samtalets betoning i medborgarutskottens deltagardemokratiska aktiviteter? 2) Hur positioneras kommuninvånare som medborgare då medborgarutskottens tjänstemän och politiker fokuserar på samtalet som kommunikationsform? 3) Genom vilka medborgarpositioner skapar deltagare mening med sitt deltagande? I avhandlingen kommer jag fram till 1) att deliberativa idéer och en kommunikativ medborgarsyn ligger bakom samtalets betoning i medborgarutskottens aktiviteter. 2) Då medborgarutskottens politiker och tjänstemän positionerar kommuninvånarna som medborgare använde de sig av fyra storylines som fokuserade på framtiden, aktivt engagemang, osjälviskt deltagande och närområdet. 3) De medborgarpositioner deltagande kommuninvånare använde för att skapa mening med sitt deltagande var som etablerade i bostadsområdet, samhörighetskännande, stolta, historieintresserade, föräldrar, medelålders, trygghetssökande och skattebetalare. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1150214
- author
- Svensson, Jakob LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Bolin, Göran, Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap, Södertörns högskola
- organization
- publishing date
- 2008
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- dialogue, positioning theory, ethnography, culture, rationality, deliberative democracy, late modernity, participation, participatory democracy, communication, meaning making, Citizenship, discourse
- in
- Lund Studies in Media and Communcation
- volume
- 10
- pages
- 294 pages
- publisher
- Lund University
- defense location
- Kulturens hörsal
- defense date
- 2008-06-12 13:15:00
- ISSN
- 1104-4330
- ISBN
- 978-91-628-7512-1
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 7f12dfdf-f7ec-4fcc-8376-56b95802540c (old id 1150214)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 15:06:46
- date last changed
- 2021-03-08 10:28:12
@phdthesis{7f12dfdf-f7ec-4fcc-8376-56b95802540c,
abstract = {{This is a study of civic communication in a municipal setting. In the south Swedish municipality of Helsingborg operated Civic Committees between 2003 and 2006. The Civic Committees organized different kinds of activities together with the citizens out in the different neighbourhoods of the municipality, such as open meetings, neighbourhood walks, workshops for the future and meetings with specific interest organizations. The alleged purpose of these meetings was to create a constructive and respectful dialogue between politicians and inhabitants. Problematic issues and concerns for the future development of the neighbourhood were to be defined and discussed. <br/><br/>The aim of the study is to understand the Civic Committee, their establishment, their communicative practices as well as citizens motivations for participating in their activities. The research is particularly focused on understanding the increasing importance of dialogue in the Civic Committee practices, and the construction of citizenship in those. <br/><br/>The Civic Committees positioned the citizens as rationally communicative, rather than instrumental consumers of municipal services. The instrumental rational focus on self-interest has been attacked from different directions, not least from ideas of deliberation and the transformation of interest through political discourse. Attracted to deliberative ideals of dialogue, the Civic Committees aimed at reorienting civic political engagement back towards the parliamentary municipal institutions. Thus a discursive struggle between instrumental and communicative conceptions of citizenship was taking place in Helsingborg.<br/><br/>In the activities organized by the Civic Committees, the politicians and the municipal officials emphasized the future, everyday life, active participation and unselfish engagement. By using these storylines, the politicians and the municipal officials wanted to raise citizens’ horizons to issues of a broader and a more visionary character, and to facilitate a constructive dialogue with a deliberative character. How did citizens themselves create meaning with their participation in the Civic Committees activities, and construct themselves as citizens? Prominent positions that were used were; being an established resident, with a sense of belonging to, and being proud of the neighbourhood, interested in its history, parent, middle aged, seeking security and paying taxes.}},
author = {{Svensson, Jakob}},
isbn = {{978-91-628-7512-1}},
issn = {{1104-4330}},
keywords = {{dialogue; positioning theory; ethnography; culture; rationality; deliberative democracy; late modernity; participation; participatory democracy; communication; meaning making; Citizenship; discourse}},
language = {{swe}},
publisher = {{Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Lund Studies in Media and Communcation}},
title = {{Kommunikation, medborgarskap och deltagardemokrati}},
volume = {{10}},
year = {{2008}},
}