That the Swedish Public Employment Service’s Director of IT has appeared in advertising for a supplier has been described as reputation exploitation. But the real problem is neither brands nor marketing, but the subtle, symbolic influence that creates loyalty and undue advantages far beyond money and gifts. Principally right – but the wrong problem is identified The Director of IT at the Swedish Public Employment Service has been suspended. He appeared in advertising for Capgemini, one of the agency’s IT suppliers. That is, of course, both right and proper. In principle, at least. Parul Sharma, Secretary-General of the Institute Against…
Posts published in “Systems, Governance and Responsibility”
Systems, Governance and Responsibility
Modern societies are organised through systems: institutions, regulatory frameworks, governance models and technological infrastructures. These systems are rarely neutral. They distribute power, create incentives, shape behaviour and define where responsibility begins and ends. Yet they are often treated as background conditions—as though they were merely administrative arrangements rather than active forces in social development.
This theme brings together analyses of how governance actually operates in practice. The focus is on the relationship between structure and responsibility: how decisions are made, how responsibility is delegated, how it sometimes disappears, and how systemic failures emerge when wholes become fragmented. The articles explore public administration, welfare institutions, organisations, reforms and digitalisation projects, as well as the ideas and assumptions that legitimise them.
The theme examines why so many systems fail despite good intentions, why no one seems to be accountable when things go wrong, and why organisational problems are so often reduced to individual shortcomings. By analysing chains of governance, mandates, role allocation and institutional logics, the articles reveal the patterns that shape society’s capacity to act.
This theme is for those who want to understand society beyond simplified explanations and personality-centred narratives. It is about seeing structures—and taking responsibility for them.