Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Syftet med denna fallstudie är att skapa en djupare förståelse om upplevd legitimitet i demokratiska beslutsfattandeprocesser. Detta har gjorts genom att undersöka hur medborgare upplever det kommunala arbetet rörande utvecklingen av Hasslemölla i relation till deras förväntningar på deltagande och inflytande. Detta har undersökts genom en intervjustudie med en teoretisk infallsvinkel som grundar sig i sociologi. Den plats som har undersökts är en äldre gård vid namn Hasslemölla i orten Veberöd, Lunds kommun. Gården köptes av Lunds kommun och ska nu rustas upp för framtida rekreations- och friluftsverksamhet. Medborgarna i bygden är präglade av ett driv att få skapa sin egen plats och vara en del av processer som denna. Fallstudien visar på att det finns en relation mellan det förväntade deltagandet som en befolkning har på en demokratisk process och den upplevda legitimiteten som medborgare har av processen och dess utfall. I flera fall misslyckades processen att leva upp till medborgarnas förväntningar. Detta blir tydligt utifrån aspekter som närhet till beslutsfattare, dialog och transparens.

The purpose of this study is to deepen the understanding of perceived legitimacy and its link to citizen expectation of participation in municipal democratic decision-making processes. This has been explored through six interviews with different actors involved in the making of a rural recreation center called Hasslemölla in Veberöd, Lund municipality. These interviews were analyzed through a sociological lens, using Rosanvallons legitimacy concept. The findings suggested that citizens' expectations of citizen participation did affect perceptions of democratic legitimacy in the process of making Hasslemölla. Legitimacy was granted to and retracted from the municipality in plural ways. Often, however, the reality of the process fell short of citizens expectations which caused citizens to deem the work of the municipality illegitimate. The expectations of citizens in Veberöd on municipal processes did not come to existence in a vacuum, but rather it seemed they were constructed over time through interactions within the local community and with the municipality. As such, the previous experiences of interactions with the municipality shaped future expectations of how municipal work will and should proceed. The inhabitants of Veberöd had fostered a “do-it-yourself” spirit that came to clearly define their expectations on municipal processes. Essentially, citizens expected a high degree of participation in decision-making processes and demanded more proximity, dialogue and transparency from the municipality. As such, expectations of participation and influence were not entirely disconnected from how the legitimacy of the process was perceived.