David Karlsson
Biographic Data
| ID | 347722 |
|---|---|
| NAME | David Karlsson |
| GIVEN NAMES | David |
| FAMILY NAME | Karlsson |
| SIGNATURE | KARLSSON D |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Gothenburg |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0161-4843 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 72 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 18 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Drivers of cybersecurity improvements in local government
Public organisations are struggling with the urgent need to increase their cybersecurity, i.e. the protection of information and information systems. The aim of this article is to examine how cybersecurity maturity in local government is improved through internal capacity-building and inter-municipal collaboration (IMC), and how the effectiveness of these strategies depends on the timing of their deployment in the development of organisational ca…
Paradoxical outsourcing? – outsourcing in left-leaning municipalities
This article aims to discuss why and how left-leaning governing parties outsource public services to private contractors despite their ideological commitments. Previous research typically links such contradictory decisions to global trends or ideological shifts. This study revises that perspective by adopting a novel, bottom-up approach focused on outsourcing processes in local government. A comparative analysis of Swedish municipalities shows th…
The spatial dimension of political dissent - Centre-periphery dynamics in Sweden
This article introduces the concept of centre-periphery dynamics, emphasising the multifaceted distribution of political power and resources between central and peripheral areas within a polity. The study examines how these dynamics influence party-political dissent in Swedish local governments. Drawing on data from a comprehensive survey of councillors across Sweden's 290 municipalities, it analyses whether political dissent vary across policy a…
Why do politicians perceive the same financial conditions differently
Behavioral public administration research has provided empirical evidence of several perception biases when individuals process information. Building on these findings, we seek to advance the literature by analyzing politicians' financial perceptions of their own government. Drawing on the theory of motivated reasoning, we examine the context of Swedish municipalities and find financial perception gaps associated with politicians' party affiliati…
Local politicians’ perceptions of financial conditions – do they align with financial indicators
Throughout history, critics of democracy have doubted people’s ability to govern themselves. For example, are local politicians – who often lack any formal training in accounting or economics – really able to comprehend complex financial information? Previous studies addressing this issue are in short supply, and their results are generally pessimistic. The aim of this paper is to test which – if any – financial indicators are related to local po…
Quasi-backsourcing in the Public Sector – The Challenge of Withdrawing from an Intertwined and Long-standing Relationship
The aim of this study is to map the process involved in terminating a long-standing business relationship in a public context. It employed an exploratory study to interview 35 politicians, senior- and middle managers, ambulance- and dispatch centre staff and representatives of a regional alliance of patients. Growing criticism from a county council towards a contractor ended in a decision to bring services back in-house. However, terminating the …
Perceptions of polarization among political representatives
The aim of this article is to study why politicians in the same elected assembly perceive political polarization differently, as well as whether and how this influences perceptions of their behaviour. The findings reveals that there is a relationship between local politicians' perceptions of polarization and winner-loser partisanship and trust. The results show that politicians who have higher levels of trust perceive a lower level of antagonisti…
Involuntary backsourcing in the public sector
The aim of this study is to contribute to the literature on how involuntary backsourcing in public organizations is performed in practice and how it affects the relationship between principal and agent. The study focuses on two questions: (1) Which stages characterize the process when public contracts are involuntary terminated? (2) How does involuntary backsourcing affect the relationship between principal and agent during the transfer period? T…
What does it mean to be a feminist MP? A comparative analysis of the Swedish and Danish parliaments
The issue of whether political interests are gendered, and if so, how, has been a recurrent theme in research. While there have been several attempts recently to address gendered political interests theoretically, the central concept of feminism has not been explored in any depth in this context. This article uses unique data pertaining to self-identification as a “feminist” MP, and explores how it relates to gender, party and certain policy issu…
Putting Party First
This paper investigates the relationship between Swedish MPs and their constituencies between elections. The main finding is that while most Swedish MPs primarily focus on representing their party and promoting issues of national importance, they are also engaged in constituency service and promoting the interest of their constituency in the Riksdag. The findings also confirm expectations that the incentive structures for re-election tend to make…
Causes of party conflicts in local politics
This article shows how two forms of party conflict (political dissent and antagonistic behaviour) are related but explained by different factors. It is therefore of utmost importance to distinguish between the two forms of conflict. Political dissent is mainly explained by the size of demos while social fragmentation, fiscal stress and party contestation increase antagonistic behaviour. The presence of a local protest party inflates both forms of…
Inter‐level Trust in a Multilevel Political System
The aim of this article is to study political representatives in a multilevel government system and their level of political trust in relation to institutions in their own and other tiers of government. The results show that two factors are essential for understanding variations in their trust: Representatives tend to trust institutions in other tiers less than those in their own tier (the tier‐association effect), and they trust institutions mor…
That's what friends are for
The interests of historically disadvantaged groups risk being overlooked if they are not present in the decision-making process. However, a mere presence in politics does not guarantee political success. Often groups need allies to promote their interests successfully. We argue that one way to identify such allies is to judge politicians by whether they have friends in historically disadvantaged groups, as intergroup friendships have been shown t…
Local Autonomy or National Equality? A Conflict of Values and Interests for Political Leaders
Local autonomy and national equality are conflicting political values. Finding the balance between autonomy and equality is a difficult challenge for local leaders in multi-level government systems everywhere. This article aims to find factors that explain the attitudes of local representatives in these matters. The results show that left–right ideology, party interest and local economic interest all have substantial effects on the representative…
Ruling Majority and Opposition
The question posed in this article is how parliamentary position affects the attitudes of political representatives: Do attitudes towards democratic game rules and policy content differ between members of the ruling majority and the opposition? And if there is such an effect, what could be the possible causal mechanisms? The data derive from a unique survey of all 13,044 councillors in the 290 municipalities in Sweden. The results show that, with…
The Hidden Constitutions
The constitutional setting of a political system determines the division of power between institutions and positions, and regulates the interaction of political actors. Politicians form their notions of democracy and interpret their roles as elected representatives in relation to the institutions that regulate their practice. However, considerable parts of the constitutional framework are not written down or formalised. Instead, informal institut…
Representatives' Attitudes Toward Citizen Protests in Sweden
What affects political representatives' attitudes toward citizen protests? We test the impact of political representatives' left‐right ideology, parliamentary position, and earlier experience of citizen protests. Using data from a pioneering survey covering all local political representatives in Sweden (n = 9,101, response rate 70%), we examine attitudes toward controversial noninstitutionalized forms of citizen protests. The results show that re…
Demo hour
No abstract available
Representatives' Attitudes Toward Citizen Protests in Sweden
What affects political representatives' attitudes toward citizen protests? We test the impact of political representatives' left‐right ideology, parliamentary position, and earlier experience of citizen protests. Using data from a pioneering survey covering all local political representatives in Sweden (n = 9,101, response rate 70%), we examine attitudes toward controversial noninstitutionalized forms of citizen protests. The results show that re…
Ruling Majority and Opposition
The question posed in this article is how parliamentary position affects the attitudes of political representatives: Do attitudes towards democratic game rules and policy content differ between members of the ruling majority and the opposition? And if there is such an effect, what could be the possible causal mechanisms? The data derive from a unique survey of all 13,044 councillors in the 290 municipalities in Sweden. The results show that, with…
Local politicians’ perceptions of financial conditions – do they align with financial indicators
Throughout history, critics of democracy have doubted people’s ability to govern themselves. For example, are local politicians – who often lack any formal training in accounting or economics – really able to comprehend complex financial information? Previous studies addressing this issue are in short supply, and their results are generally pessimistic. The aim of this paper is to test which – if any – financial indicators are related to local po…
Causes of party conflicts in local politics
This article shows how two forms of party conflict (political dissent and antagonistic behaviour) are related but explained by different factors. It is therefore of utmost importance to distinguish between the two forms of conflict. Political dissent is mainly explained by the size of demos while social fragmentation, fiscal stress and party contestation increase antagonistic behaviour. The presence of a local protest party inflates both forms of…
That's what friends are for
The interests of historically disadvantaged groups risk being overlooked if they are not present in the decision-making process. However, a mere presence in politics does not guarantee political success. Often groups need allies to promote their interests successfully. We argue that one way to identify such allies is to judge politicians by whether they have friends in historically disadvantaged groups, as intergroup friendships have been shown t…
The Hidden Constitutions
The constitutional setting of a political system determines the division of power between institutions and positions, and regulates the interaction of political actors. Politicians form their notions of democracy and interpret their roles as elected representatives in relation to the institutions that regulate their practice. However, considerable parts of the constitutional framework are not written down or formalised. Instead, informal institut…
Putting Party First
This paper investigates the relationship between Swedish MPs and their constituencies between elections. The main finding is that while most Swedish MPs primarily focus on representing their party and promoting issues of national importance, they are also engaged in constituency service and promoting the interest of their constituency in the Riksdag. The findings also confirm expectations that the incentive structures for re-election tend to make…
Inter‐level Trust in a Multilevel Political System
The aim of this article is to study political representatives in a multilevel government system and their level of political trust in relation to institutions in their own and other tiers of government. The results show that two factors are essential for understanding variations in their trust: Representatives tend to trust institutions in other tiers less than those in their own tier (the tier‐association effect), and they trust institutions mor…
Perceptions of polarization among political representatives
The aim of this article is to study why politicians in the same elected assembly perceive political polarization differently, as well as whether and how this influences perceptions of their behaviour. The findings reveals that there is a relationship between local politicians' perceptions of polarization and winner-loser partisanship and trust. The results show that politicians who have higher levels of trust perceive a lower level of antagonisti…
What does it mean to be a feminist MP? A comparative analysis of the Swedish and Danish parliaments
The issue of whether political interests are gendered, and if so, how, has been a recurrent theme in research. While there have been several attempts recently to address gendered political interests theoretically, the central concept of feminism has not been explored in any depth in this context. This article uses unique data pertaining to self-identification as a “feminist” MP, and explores how it relates to gender, party and certain policy issu…
Local Autonomy or National Equality? A Conflict of Values and Interests for Political Leaders
Local autonomy and national equality are conflicting political values. Finding the balance between autonomy and equality is a difficult challenge for local leaders in multi-level government systems everywhere. This article aims to find factors that explain the attitudes of local representatives in these matters. The results show that left–right ideology, party interest and local economic interest all have substantial effects on the representative…
The spatial dimension of political dissent - Centre-periphery dynamics in Sweden
This article introduces the concept of centre-periphery dynamics, emphasising the multifaceted distribution of political power and resources between central and peripheral areas within a polity. The study examines how these dynamics influence party-political dissent in Swedish local governments. Drawing on data from a comprehensive survey of councillors across Sweden's 290 municipalities, it analyses whether political dissent vary across policy a…
Demo hour
No abstract available
Representatives' Attitudes Toward Citizen Protests in Sweden
What affects political representatives' attitudes toward citizen protests? We test the impact of political representatives' left‐right ideology, parliamentary position, and earlier experience of citizen protests. Using data from a pioneering survey covering all local political representatives in Sweden (n = 9,101, response rate 70%), we examine attitudes toward controversial noninstitutionalized forms of citizen protests. The results show that re…
The Hidden Constitutions
The constitutional setting of a political system determines the division of power between institutions and positions, and regulates the interaction of political actors. Politicians form their notions of democracy and interpret their roles as elected representatives in relation to the institutions that regulate their practice. However, considerable parts of the constitutional framework are not written down or formalised. Instead, informal institut…
Local Autonomy or National Equality? A Conflict of Values and Interests for Political Leaders
Local autonomy and national equality are conflicting political values. Finding the balance between autonomy and equality is a difficult challenge for local leaders in multi-level government systems everywhere. This article aims to find factors that explain the attitudes of local representatives in these matters. The results show that left–right ideology, party interest and local economic interest all have substantial effects on the representative…
Ruling Majority and Opposition
The question posed in this article is how parliamentary position affects the attitudes of political representatives: Do attitudes towards democratic game rules and policy content differ between members of the ruling majority and the opposition? And if there is such an effect, what could be the possible causal mechanisms? The data derive from a unique survey of all 13,044 councillors in the 290 municipalities in Sweden. The results show that, with…
Inter‐level Trust in a Multilevel Political System
The aim of this article is to study political representatives in a multilevel government system and their level of political trust in relation to institutions in their own and other tiers of government. The results show that two factors are essential for understanding variations in their trust: Representatives tend to trust institutions in other tiers less than those in their own tier (the tier‐association effect), and they trust institutions mor…
That's what friends are for
The interests of historically disadvantaged groups risk being overlooked if they are not present in the decision-making process. However, a mere presence in politics does not guarantee political success. Often groups need allies to promote their interests successfully. We argue that one way to identify such allies is to judge politicians by whether they have friends in historically disadvantaged groups, as intergroup friendships have been shown t…
Putting Party First
This paper investigates the relationship between Swedish MPs and their constituencies between elections. The main finding is that while most Swedish MPs primarily focus on representing their party and promoting issues of national importance, they are also engaged in constituency service and promoting the interest of their constituency in the Riksdag. The findings also confirm expectations that the incentive structures for re-election tend to make…
Causes of party conflicts in local politics
This article shows how two forms of party conflict (political dissent and antagonistic behaviour) are related but explained by different factors. It is therefore of utmost importance to distinguish between the two forms of conflict. Political dissent is mainly explained by the size of demos while social fragmentation, fiscal stress and party contestation increase antagonistic behaviour. The presence of a local protest party inflates both forms of…
What does it mean to be a feminist MP? A comparative analysis of the Swedish and Danish parliaments
The issue of whether political interests are gendered, and if so, how, has been a recurrent theme in research. While there have been several attempts recently to address gendered political interests theoretically, the central concept of feminism has not been explored in any depth in this context. This article uses unique data pertaining to self-identification as a “feminist” MP, and explores how it relates to gender, party and certain policy issu…
Involuntary backsourcing in the public sector
The aim of this study is to contribute to the literature on how involuntary backsourcing in public organizations is performed in practice and how it affects the relationship between principal and agent. The study focuses on two questions: (1) Which stages characterize the process when public contracts are involuntary terminated? (2) How does involuntary backsourcing affect the relationship between principal and agent during the transfer period? T…
Perceptions of polarization among political representatives
The aim of this article is to study why politicians in the same elected assembly perceive political polarization differently, as well as whether and how this influences perceptions of their behaviour. The findings reveals that there is a relationship between local politicians' perceptions of polarization and winner-loser partisanship and trust. The results show that politicians who have higher levels of trust perceive a lower level of antagonisti…
Quasi-backsourcing in the Public Sector – The Challenge of Withdrawing from an Intertwined and Long-standing Relationship
The aim of this study is to map the process involved in terminating a long-standing business relationship in a public context. It employed an exploratory study to interview 35 politicians, senior- and middle managers, ambulance- and dispatch centre staff and representatives of a regional alliance of patients. Growing criticism from a county council towards a contractor ended in a decision to bring services back in-house. However, terminating the …
Why do politicians perceive the same financial conditions differently
Behavioral public administration research has provided empirical evidence of several perception biases when individuals process information. Building on these findings, we seek to advance the literature by analyzing politicians' financial perceptions of their own government. Drawing on the theory of motivated reasoning, we examine the context of Swedish municipalities and find financial perception gaps associated with politicians' party affiliati…
Local politicians’ perceptions of financial conditions – do they align with financial indicators
Throughout history, critics of democracy have doubted people’s ability to govern themselves. For example, are local politicians – who often lack any formal training in accounting or economics – really able to comprehend complex financial information? Previous studies addressing this issue are in short supply, and their results are generally pessimistic. The aim of this paper is to test which – if any – financial indicators are related to local po…
Paradoxical outsourcing? – outsourcing in left-leaning municipalities
This article aims to discuss why and how left-leaning governing parties outsource public services to private contractors despite their ideological commitments. Previous research typically links such contradictory decisions to global trends or ideological shifts. This study revises that perspective by adopting a novel, bottom-up approach focused on outsourcing processes in local government. A comparative analysis of Swedish municipalities shows th…
The spatial dimension of political dissent - Centre-periphery dynamics in Sweden
This article introduces the concept of centre-periphery dynamics, emphasising the multifaceted distribution of political power and resources between central and peripheral areas within a polity. The study examines how these dynamics influence party-political dissent in Swedish local governments. Drawing on data from a comprehensive survey of councillors across Sweden's 290 municipalities, it analyses whether political dissent vary across policy a…
Drivers of cybersecurity improvements in local government
Public organisations are struggling with the urgent need to increase their cybersecurity, i.e. the protection of information and information systems. The aim of this article is to examine how cybersecurity maturity in local government is improved through internal capacity-building and inter-municipal collaboration (IMC), and how the effectiveness of these strategies depends on the timing of their deployment in the development of organisational ca…
Political science (14 works) · Law (12 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (10 works) · Law (10 works) · Politics (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Business (7 works) · Public Administration (7 works) · Economics (6 works) · Political economy (6 works)