Mellan säkerhet och särintressen : Aktörsperspektiv på Livsmedelsberedskapen i Norrbottens län 1980-1990

Sammanfattning

Between Security and Special Interests Actor Perspectives on Food Preparedness in Norrbotten County 1980–1990 This study investigates how regional actors invoked and mobilized arguments about food preparedness to secure financial aid for maintaining production in the stagnating agricultural sector in Norrbotten County during the 1980s. The paper primarily employs a qualitative inductive approach, inspired by assumptions from the public choice approach about rent-seeking, and drawing on insights from earlier research on the dynamic character of regulatory processes which emphasizes how regulations and actor constellations diverge and evolve over time. The empirical material consists of archival material provided by the County Administrative Board in Norrbotten, legal and public documents (ministry publications series; government bills; swedish government official reports), and newspaper articles. The study reveals that the regional agricultural discourse during the 1980s primarily was framed in terms of regional policy, while food preparedness was articulated in secondary terms. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that the process was dynamic as the different actor groups alternated between arguments to maintain state support for agricultural production in the county.