Den radikala byråkraten: en normativ analys av byråkratiskt motstånd

Sammanfattning

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.