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How Many? Calculative Practices in the Response to the Refugee Crisis of 2015

Svenbro, Maja LU (2022) In Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration 26(2). p.23-40
Abstract
Crises are characterised by urgency and disorder, with the ordering practices of crisis management teams constituting key features of the response. In the Swedish refugee crisis that began in autumn 2015, numbers became a key analytic tool to comprehend,
monitor and communicate the flow of people arriving in the south of the country. This study draws on theory from social studies of quantification, critical accounting and governing practices. It adopts a qualitative approach and investigates calculative practices
in three local crisis teams in Malmö, Sweden. These knowledge producing practices are understood as connected to processes of problematisation, with potential implications that are not always considered. Quantification,... (More)
Crises are characterised by urgency and disorder, with the ordering practices of crisis management teams constituting key features of the response. In the Swedish refugee crisis that began in autumn 2015, numbers became a key analytic tool to comprehend,
monitor and communicate the flow of people arriving in the south of the country. This study draws on theory from social studies of quantification, critical accounting and governing practices. It adopts a qualitative approach and investigates calculative practices
in three local crisis teams in Malmö, Sweden. These knowledge producing practices are understood as connected to processes of problematisation, with potential implications that are not always considered. Quantification, although seemingly limited to the neutral,
objective application of numbers, can have important political consequences, playing a role in how scarce societal resources are distributed during and after a crisis, as well as before the next one. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration
volume
26
issue
2
pages
18 pages
publisher
University of Gothenburg, School of Public Administration
external identifiers
  • scopus:85151385406
ISSN
2001-7405
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e4776995-c07b-4010-aa88-22b94c6869ba
alternative location
https://ojs.ub.gu.se/index.php/sjpa/article/view/5075/4165
date added to LUP
2022-08-23 15:26:34
date last changed
2023-04-30 04:02:54
@article{e4776995-c07b-4010-aa88-22b94c6869ba,
  abstract     = {{Crises are characterised by urgency and disorder, with the ordering practices of crisis management teams constituting key features of the response. In the Swedish refugee crisis that began in autumn 2015, numbers became a key analytic tool to comprehend,<br/>monitor and communicate the flow of people arriving in the south of the country. This study draws on theory from social studies of quantification, critical accounting and governing practices. It adopts a qualitative approach and investigates calculative practices<br/>in three local crisis teams in Malmö, Sweden. These knowledge producing practices are understood as connected to processes of problematisation, with potential implications that are not always considered. Quantification, although seemingly limited to the neutral,<br/>objective application of numbers, can have important political consequences, playing a role in how scarce societal resources are distributed during and after a crisis, as well as before the next one.}},
  author       = {{Svenbro, Maja}},
  issn         = {{2001-7405}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{23--40}},
  publisher    = {{University of Gothenburg, School of Public Administration}},
  series       = {{Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration}},
  title        = {{How Many? Calculative Practices in the Response to the Refugee Crisis of 2015}},
  url          = {{https://ojs.ub.gu.se/index.php/sjpa/article/view/5075/4165}},
  volume       = {{26}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}