The Inception of the European Research Council: The Role of Swedish Political Actors
https://doi.org/10.31249/kgt/2024.06.02
Abstract
The authors explore the strategies, concepts, and perspectives of the Swedish academic community during the creation of the European Research Council. This case is of particular research interest because representatives of Swedish research funding organizations and academies actively participated in the project and exerted a measurable influence during its final stages. The article examines the roles played by Swedish political actors and analyzes the factors that shaped their positions and strategies. Its main objective is to investigate how domestic political processes affect supranational institution-building and to identify the specific dimensions of this influence. The authors assess whether the positions of these actors reflect public policy goals, the interests of particular organizations and advocacy groups, or whether they act on behalf of transnational communities. These questions are addressed through the lens of three distinct versions of institutional theory. The authors conclude that the influence exerted by Swedish actors followed a bottom-up pattern: the driving forces behind the changes were scientists and representatives of the academic community, while the government played the role of guarantor – approving and legitimizing the proposed initiatives. Additionally, the positions taken by these actors are viewed as a continuation of Sweden’s national development trajectory. In other words, the nature of prior domestic events helped shape the European agenda that was emerging at the time.
About the Authors
D. A. Talagaeva
MGIMO University
Russian Federation
Daria A. TALAGAEVA
Russian Federation
Daria A. TALAGAEVA
PhD (Political Science), Associated Professor of the English Department no. 6
Vernadskogo Avenue, 76, Moscow, 119454
M. D. Romanova
MGIMO University
Russian Federation
Maria D. ROMANOVA
Russian Federation
Maria D. ROMANOVA
PhD (Philosophy), Associated Professor of the Department of International Journalism
Vernadskogo Avenue, 76, Moscow, 119454
References
1. Benner M. (2012). Big Science in a Small Country: Constraints and Possibilities of Research Policy. In: Hallosten O. (ed.) In Pursuit of a Promise: Perspectives on the Political Process to Establish the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund, Sweden. Lund: Arkiv forlag, pp. 159–172.
2. Borzel T.A., Heard-Laureote K. (2009). Networks in EU multi-level Governance: Concepts and Contributions. Journal of Public Policy. Vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 131–151. DOI: 10.1017/S0143814X09001044.
3. Building the Knowledge… (2014). Chou M., Gornitzka A.A. (eds.). Building the Knowledge Economy in Europe. Cheltenhem: Edward Elgar, 264 pp.
4. Campbell G. (2022). Ideas, politics and Public Policy. Annual Review of Sociology. Vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 21–38. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.soc.28.110601.141111.
5. Edqvist O. (2009). Grenselo’s Research: On the Internationalization of Swedish Research. Nora: Nya Doxa, 56 pp. (in Swedish).
6. Feldman B. (2012). The Nobel Prize: A History of Genius, Controversy and Prestige. S. l.: Arcade, 498 pp.
7. Goldstein J., Keohane R. (1993). Ideas and Foreign Policy: An Analytical Framework. In: Goldstein J., Keohane R. (eds.). Ideas and Foreign Policy: Beliefs, Institutions and Political Change. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, pp. 173–206.
8. Gronbaek D. (2023). A European Research Council: An Idea Whose Time Has Come? Science and Public Policy. Vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 391–404. DOI: 10.3152/147154303781780263.
9. Haas P. (1992). Introduction: Epistemic Communities and International Policy Coordination. International Organization. Vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 1–35. DOI: 10.1017/ S0020818300001442.
10. Kasatkin P.I., Talagaeva D.A. (2016). Atomic diplomacy: CERN and Euratom as supranational structures. Etnosotsium i mezhnatsionalinaya kultura. No. 12 (102), pp. 120–124 (in Russian).
11. Keohane R., Nye J. (2012). Power and Interdependence. World Politics in Transition. 4th ed. Boston, MA: Longman, 54 pp.
12. Konig T. (2016). The European Research Council. Cambridge: Polity Press, 240 pp.
13. Konnov V.I., Shestopal A.V. (2016). Introduction. National funds for science support in the context of the knowledge society. In: Socio-political Function of National Scientific Funds: Collection of Articles. Moscow: MGIMO-University, pp. 5–17 (in Russian).
14. Kropp K. (2019). The European Research Council by Thomas Konig. Science and Public Policy. Vol. 46, no. 5, pp. 784–785. DOI: 10.1093/scipol/scz015.
15. Lawn M., Lingard B. (2002). Constructing a European Policy Space in Educational Governance: The Role of Translational Policy Actors. European Educational Research Journal. Vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 290–307. DOI: 10.2304/eerj.2002.1.2.6.
16. Luukkonen T. (2014). The European Research Council and the European research funding landscape. Science and Public Policy. Vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 29–43. DOI: 10.1093/scipol/sct031.
17. Moe T. (1990). Political Institutions: The Neglected Side of the Story. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization. Vol. 6, special issue, pp. 213–253. DOI: 10.1093/ jleo/6.special_issue.213.
18. Nedeva M. (2013). Between the Global and the National: Organizing European Science. Research Policy. Vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 220–230. DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2012.07.006.
19. Nybom T. (1997). Knowledge – Policy – Society: Essays on Knowledge View, University and Research Policy. Hargshamn: Hjalmar&Jorgen bokforlag, 87 pp. (in Swedish).
20. Persson B. (2018). Interests, Ideas and Legacies of the past: analyzing the Positions and Strategies of Swedish Policy Actors in the Establishment of the ERC. European Educational Research Journal. Vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 404–420. DOI: 10.1177/1474904117719142.
21. Peters B.G. (2010). Institutional Theory in Political Science: The New Institutionalism. 3rd ed. New York: Continuum, 232 pp.
22. Rothstein B. (1996). The Social-Democratic State. The Swedish Model and the Bureaucratic Problem of Social Reforms. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 240 pp.
23. Schmidt V.A. (2008). Discursive Institutionalism: The Explanatory Power of Ideas and Discourse. The Annual Review of Political Science. Vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 303–326. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.polisci.11.060606.135342.
24. Talagaeva D.A. (2016). The Establishment of the European Research Area: Approaches of the Scandinavian Countries. PhD Thesis. Moscow: MGIMO-University, 28 pp. (in Russian).
25. Talagaeva D.A. (2017). European Academic Community as a Political Actor: Historical Evolution and Institutional Foundations. Mezhdunarodnye processy. Vol. 15, no. 2 (49), pp. 133–149 (in Russian).
26. The Advocacy Coalition… (2014). Jenkins-Smith H.C. et al. The Advocacy Coalition Framework: Foundation, Evolution, and Ongoing Research. In: Sabatier P.A., Weible C.M. (eds.). Theories of the Policy Process. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, pp. 183–224.
27. Thelen K. (1999). Historical Institutionalism in Comparative Politics. The Annual Review of Political Science. Vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 369–404. DOI: 10.1146/annurev. polisci.2.1.369.
28. University Dynamics… (2007). Olsen J., Maasen P. (eds.). University Dynamics and European Integration. Dorfrecht: Springer, 2007. 245 pp.
Review
For citations:
Talagaeva D.A., Romanova M.D. The Inception of the European Research Council: The Role of Swedish Political Actors. Outlines of global transformations: politics, economics, law. 2024;17(6):20–38. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31249/kgt/2024.06.02
Views:
8
Email this article 