Studying the debate on privatization of public library management in Swedish newspapers from 2005 and forward, this thesis aims to examine what values underpin the arguments used by proponents of different management forms. By constructing two ideational types – democratism and economism - this thesis analyzes how the proponent’s views and ideas on different management forms, namely private and public, would impact the public library organization. Even as this thesis finds that the difference between public and private values have reduced during the last decades due to the influence of New Public Management over the public sector, this is however not widely discussed by either side in the debate on management form. Even though the debate seems stuck in the polarization between public and private sector, this thesis finds that proponents of different management forms use the vocabulary of economistic and democratic values, suggesting another underlying conflict. The proponents for public management tends to use a more value based argumentation, while the proponents for privatization tends to depict their reasoning more like rational facts than ideological statements. Due to the difference in argumentation it appears as though the proponents debate on different levels. The thesis concludes that this is a debate concerned with democratic and economic values and that the proponents attach them with each management form. The black and white view of private and public sector tends to stand in the way of this deeper debate about values. Both sides agrees however that the form of management will impact the public library organization.

Trots att Sverige än så länge saknar en standard för hur intelligenta datorer får användas i offentlig sektor, så använder en allt större mängd myndigheter automatiserade beslutssystem i ärenden mot privatpersoner. Vetskapen om dessa system är låg hos den generella befolkningen, vilket riskerar göra det svårt för människor att ta till vara på sina intressen. I Trelleborgs kommun har man sedan 2017 använt automatiserad handläggning för att ta beslut i ärenden om ekonomiskt bistånd, vilket har gett upphov till kritiska granskningar av fallets rättsäkerhet och implikationer för handläggarrollen. Hur systemet påverkar den sökande individens förutsättningar och  demokratiska förvaltningsideal har emellertid varit ett underutvecklat ämnesområde. Följaktligen ämnar denna studie undersöka vilket utrymme demokratiska värden har vid automatiserat beslutsfattande i myndighetsärenden mot privatpersoner. Detta görs genom att jämföra implementeringen av automatiseringssystem i Trelleborgs kommun med en idealtyp för demokratiska värden i intelligent automatisering av förvaltningen. Analysresultaten visar på att flera demokratiska nyckelfunktioner saknas i Trelleborgsmodellen. Det bristfälliga utrymmet för demokratiska värden kan dock härledas i stor utsträckning till kommunens hantering av systemet snarare än begränsningar i systemet i sig.

Abstract Olsson, Karin (2009). Den (över)levande demokratin. En idékritisk analys av demokratins reproducerbarhet i Robert Dahls tänkta värld. (Sustainable Democracy. Exploring the Idea of a Reproducible Democracy in the Theory of Robert A. Dahl). Acta Wexionensia 185/2009, ISSN: 1404-4307, ISBN: 978-91-7636-677-6. With a summary in English.   Everybody loves democracy. The problem is that while everybody calls himself democratic, the ideal form of democracy is hard to come by in the real world. But if we believe in democracy and believe that it is the best form of government, I argue that we should try to design a theory of democracy that is realisable – and reproducible. This thesis, then, focuses primarily on the question whether we find support in democratic theory for an idea of a self-reproducing democracy. It proceeds by means of an investigation of Robert A. Dahl’s theory of democracy. He is one of the most well-known and highly regarded theorists in the field of democratic research, whose work covers both normative and empirical analysis. When analysing the reproducible democracy, I argue that it is essential to study both normative values and empirical assumptions: the values that count as intrinsic to democracy, the assumptions that are made about man, and the institutions that are needed for the realisable and reproducible democracy. In modern social science man is often pushed into the background. This is also the case in theories of democracy, even though man (the individual) is the one who has the right to vote, the one who has the autonomy to decide – the one who has to act democratically in order to preserve democracy. The study yields the following findings. First, in Dahl’s theory political equality and autonomy come out as intrinsic values. Second, the assumptions made about man show that even if he seems to be ignored, he is always present. When Dahl construes his theory, he does it with full attention to man’s qualities, interests, manners of acting and reacting, and adaptability to the values of democracy. Third, the institutions needed to realise and reproduce democracy go further than the institutions of polyarchy. They need support from the judicial system, political culture, education and the market. Fourth, when it comes down to making democracy work and reproducing democracy, Dahl puts the full responsibility on man as he is not willing to allow too rigid constitutional mechanisms. Fifth, even though Dahl puts the emphasis on the empirical situation of the real world, he does not alter his normative ideals in order to make the theory more adaptive. For him, political equality and autonomy are imperative demands, too important to alter. And the only way to get full procedural democracy is to trust the democratic man.

I studien undersöktes hur det dagliga ledarskapet inom offentliga verksamheter tar sig uttryck i relation till det offentliga styrningsidealet samt hur detta kan förstås i relation till chefsnivå. Studien tog sitt stöd ur teoretiska aspekter i form av vårt offentliga etos, styrning ledning och chefsnivåer. Studien har genomförts med semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer där det målstyrda urvalet bestod av fyra institutionella chefer samt fyra administrativa chefer. Resultatet påvisa tendenser till både likheter och skillnader vad gäller arbetet med styrningsideal inom offentlig förvaltning i förhållande till chefsnivå. Detta diskuteras och kan förstås genom att det råder olika logiker beroende chefsnivå. Bifynd upptäcktes även i form av att arbetet med styrningsideal kan bero på vilken verksamhetspraktik organisationen verkar inom. Slutsatsen är således att arbetet med styrningsideal är komplext inom offentliga verksamheter men där demokrativärden generellt tenderar att vara det primära. / The purpose of this study is to explore the daily leadership within public administration concerning control ideas and how it can be understood and seen from a managerial level. The thesis bases its conclusions on theoretical aspects such as our public ethos, control management and managerial level. The thesis derives from eight semi-structured qualitative interviews which of the goal-oriented selection consists of four institutional managers and four administrative managers. The result of the study identifies trends such as similarities and differences in terms of control ideas within public administration concerning the managerial level. Furthermore, the results are discussed and can be understood in terms of that different logics are depending on managerial level. The thesis also finds incidental findings which are that control ideas also can depend on which business internship it operates within. The study concludes that the work with governance ideals is a complex topic within public administrations however, democratic values tend to be the primary focus.