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Using an analytical framework based on Foucault´s concept of governmentality and through unique case-studies, this volume explores the ongoing transformations taking place in the Swedish welfare state.

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List of Figures, Tables, and Illustrations Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors PART I: APPROACHING THE SWEDISH MODEL Transformations of the Swedish Welfare State: Social Engineering, Governance and Governmentality - An Introduction; B.Larsson, M.Letell & H.Thörn Pathways of the Welfare State: Growth and Democracy; M.Peterson PART II: SECURITY AND CONTROL The Swedish ´Welfare-Warfare Nexus´ and the New Security Architecture; H.Glimell Governing Unruly Technology: Swedish Politicians and Nuclear Power; G.Sundqvist Social Policy Reforms in Sweden: New Perspectives on Rights and Obligations; U.Björnberg Labour Market Policies in Transition: From Social Engineering to stand-by-ability; M.Bengtsson & T.Berglund Decentring Economic Regulation and Control: Reinforcing Trust through Self-regulation; B.Larsson & O.Engdahl Criminal Records: Governing Symbols; C.Backman PART III: PUBLIC HEALTH The Advanced Liberal Logic of Nicotine Replacement and the Swedish Invention of Smoking as Addiction; M.Elam and A.Gunnarsson From Medicine by Wire to Governing Wireless: Changing Geographies of Healthcare; J.Petersson Governance of End of Life: The Case of Sweden; N.Machado Governing by Drugs: The Denial of Subsidy for Viagra Use in Sweden; E.Sjögren & E.Johnson PART IV: THE CITY Governing Movements in Urban Space; H.Thörn From the Lonely Homophile in the Darkness to Rainbow Families in the Streets - A Story of Liberation?; C.Wasshede Real Estate Ownership Concentration and Urban Governance; M.Landzelius Homelessness as Politics and Market; C.Löfstrand Conclusions: Re-engineering the Swedish Welfare State; H.Thörn & B.Larsson Epilogue: Social Change, Scholarly Change, and Scholarly Continuity; G.Therborn References

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´For many of us Sweden is the iconic social democratic welfare state. But this fascinating collection of essays from the University of Gothenberg, covering a wide range of aspects of contemporary Sweden, helps us to understand that the Swedish welfare state is certainly reconfiguring and may well be transforming´. - Jonathan Bradshaw, Professor at the Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, UK

´The plural in the title signals the break between this book and many others on the topic. Typically seen in monolithic terms, the Swedish Welfare State is invariably regarded as either a continuing marvel or in the ´neoliberal fairytale´ alluded to in the Introduction as ineluctably broken. But what if a mix of social engineering by experts and public-private partnerships as much as central governmental administration by design was always intrinsic to the Swedish welfare state? Rather than state versus market versus civil society, the detailed chapters in this volume point to a variety of ways in which human welfare continues to be regarded as a collective political engagement in Sweden even as an emphasis on ´responsibility´ represents a renegotiation of the old social contract.´ - John Agnew, Professor in the Department of Geography, UCLA, USA

´This collective project of a new generation, the most circumspect and theoretically engaged attempt at grasping contemporary Sweden, is also a manifestation of the continuing vitality of the Sociology Department at Gothenburg University.´ - Göran Therborn, Chair and Professor of Sociology, University of Cambridge, UK

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