Power Elites and Concepts of Power

Director: 
 Risto Heiskala, University of Jyväskylä, heiskala(at)yfi.jyu.fi

Researchers:
 Anu Kantola, (deputy director), University of Helsinki, anu.kantola(at)helsinki.fi
 Lotta Lounasmeri, University of Helsinki, lotta.lounasmeri(at)helsinki.fi
 Karoliina Malmelin, University of Helsinki, karoliina.malmelin(at)helsinki.fi

Every political regime develops its own vocabulary: concepts and instruments, which guide political governance and power and make it legitimate. The aim of this subproject is to examine the central concepts of the Finnish market regime, track the ways they have been introduced, adopted, contested and used in the exercise of societal and political power. What are the central concepts of the Finnish market regime and how have they been used to guide political power and to make it legitimate? We maintain that the struggle for power is often struggle for right formulations as various institutions and actors which thrive to define the concepts in ways which would serve particular political ends and we hope to give a picture on the power struggles over the key concepts.

The following issues will be covered in the project:

Historical trajectories of the concepts. The international conceptual history of the concepts as well as their trajectories to Finland.

Legitimations of power. How have these concepts been used for legitimising political ends and political power? What are the rationalities constructed and how are they used for governing societal life and subjects?

Key actors and networks. Who are the influential, i.e. powerful, actors behind the changes? What is the role of various actors and institutions, international and national? What is the role of the state, political and administrative elites as well as parliamentary actors in the building of the market regime? What is the role of the parties, interest groups and NGOs? What is the role the internationalised corporate sector and its elites in the market regime? And, finally, who have been the international disseminators and institutions of knowledge building promoting the new practises in the Finnish public and political life?

Elite structures. Does the adoption of the new market-oriented vocabularies and practises of governance reflect changes in elite and authority structures? Have new powerful elite groups or authorities proposing market-oriented vocabularies and rationalities of governance emerged? Or, alternatively, can the market regime be seen rather in terms of continuity of the Finnish consensual political governance.

Democracy. What is the role of democracy, political action and citizenship in the governing rationalities and authority structures of the market regime? Have democratic institutions and processes had a leading role by debating and setting targets or have they been lagging behind? We also aim to evaluate in particular the role of the public discussion and media in the exercise of political power. How does media and journalism and journalists in particular use their power to bring forward certain voices and discourses, and on the other hand to silence or belittle others?

The project consists of four subprojects:

Governing the Finnish competition state: competitiveness and efficiency (Anu Kantola)
The notions of competitiveness and efficiency have become to entail a reconfiguration of politics. They are also related to the rise of the techno-political concepts such as technology, innovations, know-how and creativity. Dr. Anu Kantola will look at the rise of these concepts in the Finnish competition state and examine the key elite actors and networks who have been active in the introduction of these concepts. In which ways the bodies of knowledge linked with competitiveness have been developed to rationalities aiming to govern political communities? What kind of political rule, rationalities and discipline is promoted and legitimised in the name of competitiveness and efficiency? What have been the power struggles surrounding the adoption of these policies?

The conceptual justifications of public policies (Risto Heiskala)
The research will look at the conceptual justifications in the Finnish public policy programmes since the 1980s. The role of the market based concept of utility is reflected with the alternative concepts of virtues, rights and human capabilities. The aim is to understand the ways how these concepts have been institutionalised into practises and institutions of political governing in the context of the Finnish society. What kind of a conception about good life is inherent in each of the justification strategies of public policy programmes? How has the balance between alternative political concepts for legitimising public policy programmes changed in Finland over the time? How have these concepts been institutionalised into practises and institutions of political power? These questions will answered with empirical case studies on public policy documents on healthcare, social security and education before and after the discursive turn into the market regime in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Struggles over globalisation (Lotta Lounasmeri)
Lotta Lounasmeri will concentrate on the political uses of the concept of globalisation in the Finnish public discussion. The consequences of globalisation have been a matter of political struggle since the 1990s. What kind of legitimating rationalities are promoted in the name of globalisation? Who are the elite and non-elite actors participating in this struggle? What is the power of the media elites in the debate and in deciding which actors gain prominence and which ones are marginalised? Are old national elites challenged by new, corporate and market oriented elites? At the same time, the role of non-elite actors is of interest here. Citizens try to get their voices heard either individually or through NGOs. Also the role of media elites is important. The media acts as its own centre of power by organising the discussion and giving priority to certain voices over others. 

Corporate social responsibility in Finland (Karoliina Malmelin)
The notion of corporate social responsibility can be understood as an attempt to reorganize power relations in the market regime by questioning the traditional roles of political actors, business and the third sector. The evolution of the concept has been tightly bound to power and legitimation struggles as internationalising corporations are trying to negotiate their relations with labour, states and societies at large. Karoliina Malmelin will analyse the uses of corporate social responsibility in the Finnish context. What issues are being negotiated and what kind of power interests are being promoted through the use of the concept in the Finnish society?