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Bjärstig, Therese, DocentORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-6845-5525
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Publications (10 of 61) Show all publications
Bjärstig, T., Johansson, J., Mancheva, I. & Sandström, C. (2024). Collaboration as a policy instrument in public administration: evidence from forest policy and governance. Environmental Policy and Governance
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Collaboration as a policy instrument in public administration: evidence from forest policy and governance
2024 (English)In: Environmental Policy and Governance, ISSN 1756-932X, E-ISSN 1756-9338Article in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

In recent decades, collaboration has become a common policy instrument in public administration, both internationally and in Sweden. Inspired by scholarly literature on collaborative governance, the aim of this study is to analyze the crucial role of public administration in the design and implementation of collaborative governance. Drawing on several years of research on Swedish forest policy and governance, our work is based on extensive empirical material, including 88 semi-structured interviews, observations, written comments from open public consultations and actors, enacted policy documents, open public hearings and a survey. Our results confirm that factors related to process design strongly affect the outputs and outcomes of collaboration in public administration. We assert that public officials should meticulously design and adapt the collaborative process during its initiation and progress, according to the policy problem and actors' incentives and motivations to participate. However, despite good intentions by public officials, the overarching priorities and contextual factors governing the policy area must be set by elected decision makers at an early stage to establish democratic accountability and high levels of policy legitimacy and acceptance. A major implication for public administration is that the increasing use of collaborative governance may be highly inefficient if it is difficult for participants to draft shared objectives and provide intended outputs because of low levels of trust, and different interpretations of knowledge and norms. Finally, in contentious policy areas, such as forest policy, political priorities must sometimes be set by elected decision makers rather than through collaborative processes.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
John Wiley & Sons, 2024
Keywords
collaborative governance, policy instrument, public administration, qualitative methods, Swedish Forest Agency
National Category
Political Science
Research subject
political science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-221690 (URN)10.1002/eet.2099 (DOI)2-s2.0-85186950581 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council Formas, 2016-00786Swedish Research Council Formas, 2020-01039Swedish Research Council Formas, 2013-1650
Available from: 2024-03-01 Created: 2024-03-01 Last updated: 2024-03-15
Bergsten, K., Bjärstig, T., Larsson, S. & Sjölander Lindqvist, A. (2023). En preliminär studie av samverkan kring den pågående miljöprövningen av vattenkraft: lärdomar inför de fortsatta processerna. Umeå: Umeå universitet
Open this publication in new window or tab >>En preliminär studie av samverkan kring den pågående miljöprövningen av vattenkraft: lärdomar inför de fortsatta processerna
2023 (Swedish)Report (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
Abstract [sv]

Energiöverenskommelsen från 2016 slår fast att alla Sverigesvattenkraftverk ska förses med moderna miljövillkor. Idagsläget bedrivs många anläggningar med gamla tillståndmed lägre satta miljökrav än vad som behövs för att uppfyllanationella miljökvalitetsmål och EU:s vattendirektiv (Prop.2017/18:228; Prop. 2017/18:243). För att uppfylla dagensmiljökrav kan det i vissa fall komma att kräva att kraftverkenminskar sin produktion. Samtidigt har vattenkraften encentral roll i det svenska elsystemet – en roll som förstärksi och med samhällets elektrifiering och det ökade behovetav fossilfri el. Ambitionen är att moderna miljövillkor skasäkerställa både största möjliga nytta för vattenmiljön samtidigtsom en effektiv tillgång till vattenkraftsel bibehålls.Hela miljöomprövningen väntas ta omkring 20 år. För atteffektivisera och göra den komplexa processen mer legitim har kollaborativ styrning i form av samverkan mellan olikaintressenter introducerats.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Umeå: Umeå universitet, 2023. p. 5
Series
Policy Brief - Statsvetenskapliga institutionen ; 2023:2
National Category
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies)
Research subject
political science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-215204 (URN)
Projects
Hållbara vattenvägar: En modell för legitim samverkan inom svensk vattenkraft
Funder
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Available from: 2023-10-11 Created: 2023-10-11 Last updated: 2023-10-11Bibliographically approved
Svensson, J., Neumann, W. & Bjärstig, T. (2023). Hållbar landbaserad vindkraft– synergi, integration och konflikt. Stockholm: Naturvårdsverket
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Hållbar landbaserad vindkraft– synergi, integration och konflikt
2023 (Swedish)Report (Other academic)
Abstract [sv]

Rapporten belyser vindkraft idag och i framtidsscenarier för en storskalig utbyggnad. Utgångspunkt är markanspråk, i nutid och enligt Energimyndigheten och Naturvårdsverkets nationella strategi för hållbar vindkraftutbyggnad. Rapporten innehåller sju delstudier med resultat på nationell nivå för olika regioner, landsdelar, län och kommuner samt renskötselområdet och samebyar. Resultaten tolkas i förhållande till konfliktrisker samt till integrations- och synergimöjligheter när vindkraft tar en allt större plats i landskapen. 

Forskarna har analyserat markslag, riksintressen, formellt skyddade områden och markägande. Landbaserad vindkraft byggs mest på skogsmark, ägd av privata skogsbolag med andra markslag och ägarförhållanden som ökar i närområdet. I skog ser forskarna möjligheter till integration, med vindbruk som en del i skogens mångbruk. Utbyggnaden av vindkraft skapar ett incitament för en strategisk och operativ landskapsplanering i Sverige, vilket det finns ett stort behov av.

För vindkraften bör lokala förutsättningar underbygga regionala och nationella utbyggnadsramar. För detta behöver den kommunala kapaciteten stärkas. Däremot kan riksintressen, i nuvarande form, inte fylla funktionen som planeringsverktyg. 

I rapporten ingår även en medieanalys om hur debatten om vindkraft i media har kommit att involvera allt fler aktörer och blivit alltmer komplex.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Naturvårdsverket, 2023. p. 88
Series
Rapport / Naturvårdsverket, ISSN 0282-7298
National Category
Environmental Sciences Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
Research subject
political science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-212533 (URN)978-91-620-7114-1 (ISBN)
Projects
Hållbar landbaserad vindkraft
Funder
Swedish Energy Agency
Available from: 2023-08-02 Created: 2023-08-02 Last updated: 2023-08-03Bibliographically approved
Bjärstig, T. & Stark, E. (2023). Removing the glass ceiling in Swedish wildlife management?: A norm-critical study of the potential for more gender-equal moose management groups. Human Dimensions of Wildlife
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Removing the glass ceiling in Swedish wildlife management?: A norm-critical study of the potential for more gender-equal moose management groups
2023 (English)In: Human Dimensions of Wildlife, ISSN 1087-1209, E-ISSN 1533-158XArticle in journal (Refereed) Epub ahead of print
Abstract [en]

This empirical study investigates how "gender is done" within Swedish wildlife management by identifying prevailing gender norms, and how gender norms can be challenged from a norm-critical perspective, in order to promote women's participation. The basis for the study is an ongoing evaluation of the Swedish Hunters' Association training initiative to increase women's participation in moose management groups. Three main norm categories are identified: performance; social interaction; and hunting as a lifestyle. Recommendations for continued gender equality work include active leadership in gender equality issues, a review of potentially excluding structures, promoting female mentors and networks, and the use of formal and transparent recruitment procedures. An understanding of norms affecting women's participation (or nonparticipation) in wildlife management is fundamental to design effective training, recruitment and nomination strategies in the future.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2023
Keywords
Action research, doing gender, hunters, participation, representation
National Category
Gender Studies Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies) Fish and Wildlife Management
Research subject
political science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-215268 (URN)10.1080/10871209.2023.2269951 (DOI)001081064000001 ()2-s2.0-85174042056 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2023-10-13 Created: 2023-10-13 Last updated: 2023-10-30
Eckerberg, K., Bjärstig, T. & Miljand, M. (2023). Steering 'green' innovation policy toward sustainability? Lessons from implementing EIP-AGRI in Sweden. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 48, Article ID 100732.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Steering 'green' innovation policy toward sustainability? Lessons from implementing EIP-AGRI in Sweden
2023 (English)In: Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, ISSN 2210-4224, E-ISSN 2210-4232, Vol. 48, article id 100732Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article critically examines the state's steering capacity of ‘green innovation’ programs using Sweden's implementation of the agricultural European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI) as a case representing part of the EU's Green Deal. The innovations should promote the competitiveness of rural areas and contribute to national environmental protection and climate goals.

We found that despite expectations, implementation rests on compartmentalized networking within the agricultural sector, prioritizing increased ‘competitiveness’ before ‘green’ development, and interpreting ‘innovation’ mainly in the technical sense. The results indicate that the state´s steering capacity of ‘green innovation’ programs meets several obstacles: the overall goals from the top tend to be both too many and too vague, leaving it to the administration to interpret what kinds of features should be prioritized from below. The state's steering in the case of EIP-AGRI relies mostly on internal agricultural expertise contrary to previous research that suggests a recent ‘de-compartmentalisation’ of European agricultural policymaking.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2023
Keywords
European green deal, Rural development program, Steering capacity, Agricultural policy, Evaluation
National Category
Political Science
Research subject
political science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-207720 (URN)10.1016/j.eist.2023.100732 (DOI)000990658900001 ()2-s2.0-85153796758 (Scopus ID)
Projects
Löpande lärande utvärdering av EIP-Agri
Funder
Swedish Board of Agriculture
Available from: 2023-04-29 Created: 2023-04-29 Last updated: 2023-09-05Bibliographically approved
Svensson, J., Neumann, W., Bjärstig, T. & Thellbro, C. (2023). Wind power distribution across subalpine, boreal, and temperate landscapes. Ecology & Society, 28(4), Article ID 18.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Wind power distribution across subalpine, boreal, and temperate landscapes
2023 (English)In: Ecology & Society, E-ISSN 1708-3087, Vol. 28, no 4, article id 18Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Onshore wind power is increasingly expanding to meet global and national goals to increase renewable, clean, and fossil-free energy production. In many countries and regions, however, historical and current land use is extensive, and the expansion of wind power has to be well-tuned to avoid risking irreversible legacy losses of existing and traditional land uses, landscape values, and cultures. Hence, assessments of the siting premises of current and forecasted expansion of wind power are strongly needed as a basis for sustainable planning. We present a study from alpine to temperate biomes in Sweden, where an ambitious onshore wind power expansion strategy has been put in place and will result in Swedish landscapes that are typified by wind power. We explored the existing legal framework—i.e., the national interest for wind power according to the Swedish Environmental Code—concerning the spatial interaction with other national interests for nature conservation, landscape values, and other land uses, and the land cover, landowner, and formally protected areas distribution within wind power sites and in their proximity. We found that the national interest framework does not provide sufficient guidance for locating wind power to avoid spatial overlap with conflicting interests and values. Furthermore, our analysis revealed that wind power is located mainly in forest-dominated landscapes, and on lands where private forest companies are the dominant owners but where the proportion of public and non-industrial private ownership increases in the near surroundings. Finally, we found that large areas of formally protected areas are within the proximate areas influenced by wind power. As an extensive onshore wind power expansion is already going on, and an even more extensive expansion is projected, the ways forward toward a sustainable wind power expansion calls for integrated landscape planning approaches that are based on comprehensive assessments of existing interests and values.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Resilience Alliance, 2023
Keywords
human-nature interactions, land sharing, land sparing, land cover, landowner, land use conflict, landscape planning, national interests, nature conservation, protected areas, renewable energy, sustainability, Sweden
National Category
Social Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-216848 (URN)10.5751/es-14452-280418 (DOI)2-s2.0-85177470945 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Energy AgencySwedish Environmental Protection Agency, P47419-1
Available from: 2023-11-18 Created: 2023-11-18 Last updated: 2023-11-29Bibliographically approved
Eckerberg, K. & Bjärstig, T. (2022). Collaborative approaches for sustainable development governance. In: Duncan Russel; Nick Kirsop-Taylo (Ed.), Handbook on the governance of sustainable development: (pp. 175-189). Edward Elgar Publishing
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Collaborative approaches for sustainable development governance
2022 (English)In: Handbook on the governance of sustainable development / [ed] Duncan Russel; Nick Kirsop-Taylo, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022, p. 175-189Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

The challenges of environmental and sustainability governance such as dealing with competing goals, multiple interest perspectives and inherent wicked problems increasingly call for collaborative approaches in planning, policy-making, and public management. The collaboration of a diverse mix of public and private organizations is expected to bring resources, knowledge, and perspectives that may reconcile conflicts and improve policy effectiveness. As such, collaborative environmental governance contains considerable promises, seeking to restore trust in government. In this chapter, we will depict how collaborative environmental governance has emerged in current environmental and natural resource policy practice, and discuss the underlying premises for fruitful collaboration. The concept brings in ideas from a range of literatures on planning and policy studies, and overlaps considerably with the concept of network governance. We portray some of the most prominent analytical approaches to collaboration in environmental governance, and end with a section on practical implications and future research challenges.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022
Series
Elgar handbooks in development
National Category
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies)
Research subject
political science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-196167 (URN)10.4337/9781789904321.00020 (DOI)2-s2.0-85163196506 (Scopus ID)9781789904314 (ISBN)9781789904321 (ISBN)
Available from: 2022-06-09 Created: 2022-06-09 Last updated: 2023-07-12Bibliographically approved
Bjärstig, T., Mancheva, I., Zachrisson, A., Neumann, W. & Svensson, J. (2022). Is large-scale wind power a problem, solution, or victim? A frame analysis of the debate in Swedish media. Energy Research & Social Science, 83, Article ID 102337.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Is large-scale wind power a problem, solution, or victim? A frame analysis of the debate in Swedish media
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2022 (English)In: Energy Research & Social Science, ISSN 2214-6296, E-ISSN 2214-6326, Vol. 83, article id 102337Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Media content analysis was used with the aim of developing an understanding of how the debate on large-scale wind power has played out over time in Sweden, especially in relation to the enactment of national interest areas for wind power. Covering the period 1999 to 2019 and using NVivo for coding and analysis, we reviewed a total of 788 articles in both national and regional daily newspapers. To identify which actors are present in media and how they frame large-scale wind power, we conducted a frame analysis by applying three theoretical elements developed by previous media studies. The first is a diagnostic element used to pinpoint the cause to a problem, the second a prognostic element used to pinpoint the solution to a problem, and the third a motivating element used to identify the person(s) or object(s) suffering from the problem, that is, victim. Our results emphasize that wind power in recent years has been framed as a solution more often than a cause to a problem. One prevailing framing is the localization of large-scale wind power per se and conflicts with other land-uses and national interests. We also identify a tension between international and national policy objectives and local implementation of large-scale wind power. Governmental agencies are the most common framers over time, together with individuals (e.g. locals and second home owners) and wind entrepreneurs. Importantly, whereas politicians and wind entrepreneurs most often frame wind power as a solution, individuals frame it as a cause to a problem.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2022
Keywords
Wind energy, Wind parks, Media content analysis, Land-use, National interest areas, Planning
National Category
Political Science
Research subject
political science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-188944 (URN)10.1016/j.erss.2021.102337 (DOI)000723625000008 ()2-s2.0-85118146465 (Scopus ID)
Projects
Hållbar landbaserad vindkraft – synergi, integration eller konflikt mellan riksintressen
Funder
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, 47419-1Swedish Energy Agency, 47419-1
Available from: 2021-10-28 Created: 2021-10-28 Last updated: 2023-09-05Bibliographically approved
Thellbro, C., Bjärstig, T., Svensson, J., Neumann, W. & Zachrisson, A. (2022). Readiness and planning for more wind power: municipalities as key actors implementing national strategies. Cleaner energy systems, 3, Article ID 100040.
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Readiness and planning for more wind power: municipalities as key actors implementing national strategies
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2022 (English)In: Cleaner energy systems, ISSN 2772-7831, Vol. 3, article id 100040Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In the global context of rapidly developing wind-power technology, local governments have to balance local interests with larger scale targets when implementing national and international strategies. An implication of a new Swedish national strategy for wind-power development is considerable intrusion into natural resource-rich northern landscapes, where municipalities already strive to manage diverse surface demanding and legally valued land-use interests. Municipalities will thus play a key role in wind-power development. Results of our survey suggest that most municipalities have functioning wind-power plans, linked to their municipal comprehensive planning (MCP). However, so far, relatively few wind-power farms have been established, and municipalities have rarely used their right to veto, suggesting that most have not yet experienced significant problems linked to wind-power development. The municipalities rely on their right to veto, and only a third highlighted planning as a tool for handling the increasing demand for wind-power developments. Legislative changes regarding the right to veto and the status of MCP could affect local self-government considerably. Wind-power development could have major consequences for local landscapes and governments, and a municipal-wide policy regarding future wind-power development and MCP as a mediating tool must be secured to balance local interests with national ambitions.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2022
Keywords
Local self-government, Veto, Municipal comprehensive planning, Mediating tool, Wind-power development, Sweden
National Category
Political Science
Research subject
political science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-200966 (URN)10.1016/j.cles.2022.100040 (DOI)2-s2.0-85174122772 (Scopus ID)
Projects
Hållbar landbaserad vindkraft – synergi, integration eller konflikt mellan riksintressen
Funder
Swedish Energy Agency, 47419-1
Available from: 2022-11-13 Created: 2022-11-13 Last updated: 2023-12-11Bibliographically approved
Johansson, J., Bjärstig, T. & Sandström, C. (2022). Samverkan om skogen förutsätter ledarskap för långsiktig hållbarhetsomställning. In: Catrin Johansson; Hans-Erik Nilsson; Peter Öhman; Bengt-Gunnar Jonsson; Birgitta A. Engberg; Oskar Englund; Per Simonsson; Inger Axbrink (Ed.), Skogens värden: forskares reflektioner (pp. 106-107). Sundsvall: Mittuniversitetet
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Samverkan om skogen förutsätter ledarskap för långsiktig hållbarhetsomställning
2022 (Swedish)In: Skogens värden: forskares reflektioner / [ed] Catrin Johansson; Hans-Erik Nilsson; Peter Öhman; Bengt-Gunnar Jonsson; Birgitta A. Engberg; Oskar Englund; Per Simonsson; Inger Axbrink, Sundsvall: Mittuniversitetet , 2022, p. 106-107Chapter in book (Other (popular science, discussion, etc.))
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sundsvall: Mittuniversitetet, 2022
National Category
Forest Science
Research subject
political science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-196971 (URN)9789189341708 (ISBN)
Available from: 2022-06-21 Created: 2022-06-21 Last updated: 2022-06-22Bibliographically approved
Projects
MultiForSe - Multi-use forestry, private forest ownerships, and social learning networks. Approaching family forest owners as grassroots agents for alternative forest management. [2022-02068_Formas]; Uppsala University
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-6845-5525

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