Mot en tyst stat? : En studie av Tidöregeringens förvaltningspolitik

For over twenty years there has been an academic discussion regarding a growing culture of silence within Swedish public administration, where civil servants are increasingly refraining from expressing legitimate criticisms towards their superiors in fear of repercussions. One important factor that has contributed to this phenomenon is the administrative policy of the last four decades, where policymakers have increasingly promoted economic values at the cost of traditional democratic values. However, we are now in an interesting time where the large reform-projects within public administration have subsided while there has also been increased scrutiny of past New Public Management (NPM)-practices. This study therefore aims to analyse the administrative policy of the current Swedish government (Tidöregeringen) to get a hint about how the culture of silence could develop going forward. By conducting a qualitative content analysis on a selection of administrative reform-initiatives, the study mainly finds that the current government continuously promotes economic efficiency more than other values, and that the overarching logics conform to those of earlier NPM-reforms. The study then goes on to discuss how this focus on efficiency, in combination with reform-initiatives that aim to reduce the number of government agencies and increase auditing within the public sector, is unlikely to contribute to any positive change regarding the culture of silence within the public administration.