Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Den radikala byråkraten: en normativ analys av byråkratiskt motstånd

Rehn, Mina LU and Vlachos, Vera LU (2026) STVK04 20261
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Bureaucracy and politics have a tension-filled relationship. A more complex democratic system is dependent on bureaucracy and its ability to implement the decisions made, and the Weberian ideal of the neutral implementer is still the dominating one. In light of increasing reports of democratic erosion even within established representational democracies, however, this ideal comes into question. Drawing on Lennart Lundquist’s conception of the democratic function of the public servant as well as a radical democratic theoretical framework, the study explores how resistance against policy decisions enacted by Swedish public servants under certain conditions can be justified and even further democratise the system. Through a normative analysis... (More)
Bureaucracy and politics have a tension-filled relationship. A more complex democratic system is dependent on bureaucracy and its ability to implement the decisions made, and the Weberian ideal of the neutral implementer is still the dominating one. In light of increasing reports of democratic erosion even within established representational democracies, however, this ideal comes into question. Drawing on Lennart Lundquist’s conception of the democratic function of the public servant as well as a radical democratic theoretical framework, the study explores how resistance against policy decisions enacted by Swedish public servants under certain conditions can be justified and even further democratise the system. Through a normative analysis based on a theoretically founded scheme, three empirical cases of resistance by Swedish public servants are described, analysed and justified. Each case represents one type of theoretically justified resistance, either protest, exit or obstruction, and the justification is based on if the action is taken towards superiors, motivated ethically by collectively oriented principles and enacted in the public sphere. The analysis shows that under certain conditions, acts of public-servant resistance are not only justifiable, but can help both protect as well as reinforce democratic practices. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Rehn, Mina LU and Vlachos, Vera LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK04 20261
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Demokrati, byråkrati, radikal demokratiteori, byråkratiskt motstånd, tjänstemannarollen
language
Swedish
id
9227268
date added to LUP
2026-06-16 11:18:00
date last changed
2026-06-16 11:18:00
@misc{9227268,
  abstract     = {{Bureaucracy and politics have a tension-filled relationship. A more complex democratic system is dependent on bureaucracy and its ability to implement the decisions made, and the Weberian ideal of the neutral implementer is still the dominating one. In light of increasing reports of democratic erosion even within established representational democracies, however, this ideal comes into question. Drawing on Lennart Lundquist’s conception of the democratic function of the public servant as well as a radical democratic theoretical framework, the study explores how resistance against policy decisions enacted by Swedish public servants under certain conditions can be justified and even further democratise the system. Through a normative analysis based on a theoretically founded scheme, three empirical cases of resistance by Swedish public servants are described, analysed and justified. Each case represents one type of theoretically justified resistance, either protest, exit or obstruction, and the justification is based on if the action is taken towards superiors, motivated ethically by collectively oriented principles and enacted in the public sphere. The analysis shows that under certain conditions, acts of public-servant resistance are not only justifiable, but can help both protect as well as reinforce democratic practices.}},
  author       = {{Rehn, Mina and Vlachos, Vera}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Den radikala byråkraten: en normativ analys av byråkratiskt motstånd}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}