The article problematizes tourism destination development in the European borderlands of Denmark-Germany, Sweden-Denmark and Sweden-Finland, where border crossing has been relatively free for decades, except for the time of Covid-19 pandemic border restrictions in 2020-2021. The research contributes to border studies and tourism studies by developing a framework for analyzing tourism destinations through the prism of the multilayered border, with a focus on destination images, attractions, and hosts. The reseach complements previous studies on tourism development and cross-border partnership in the European Union territory by investigating multiple tourism destinations in the border regions and by contemplating to what extent borders form a resource for destination promotion in the aftermath of the pandemic. The examination of regional tourism development through the prism of borders informs us about the compatibility of the idea of a "borderless" Europe with border region "realities." © 2024 The Author(s).

The paper analyzes Nordic participation in the cross-border cooperation project "b-solutions initiative",  comparing it with the pre-existing obstacle-focused method for solving obstacles standing in the way of cross-border regional integration and mobility. The paper emphazes the novelty of the Nordic approach of working systematically with issues as "obstacles", something which then spread to European actors. The project b-solutions took the systematisation further and the method has returned to the Nordic countries with a twist and additional resources. However, Nordic actors still remain underrepresented in the overall pool. 

Politik och förvaltning är två sidor av demokratin. Den politiska makten används för att styra samhällsutvecklingen utifrån ett ideologiskt synsätt, medan den offentliga förvaltningens uppgift är att tjäna andra, ytterst medborgarna. I detta ligger en unik utmaning: å ena sidan ska folket genom sina valda representanter styra och kontrollera förvaltningen, å andra sidan ska myndigheter och tjänstemän vara självständiga nog att hävda saklighet, opartiskhet och ett etiskt förhållningssätt. 

Denna bok ger en bild av dessa utmaningar. Den ger också en överblick som gör det lättare att navigera bland alla aktörer. Att hitta rätt bland internationella, statliga, regionala och lokala nivåer är nämligen inte självklart. Detta är en karta som dessutom blivit alltmer splittrad i takt med decentralisering, specialisering och privatisering. 

I den tredje upplagan av VÅR OFFENTLIGA FÖRVALTNING har lagar och förordningar inom välfärdssektorn uppdaterats, liksom andra viktiga förändringar inom offentlig förvaltning. Även den ökade digitaliseringen och betydelsen av medlemskapet i Nato behandlas. Boken vänder sig till högskolestuderande vid utbildningar i offentlig förvaltning, men också till den som redan arbetar inom sådana verksamheter. Det inkluderar så skilda yrken som kommunikatör, utredare, socionom, arbetsvetare, lärare, arbetsförmedlare, sjukvårdspersonal, polis och miljöinspektör. Boken vänder sig också till förtroendevalda politiker och andra som är intresserade av området. 

Anna Melke är journalist, fil. dr i offentlig förvaltning och verksam som forskare vid Göteborgsregionen, FoU i Väst. Hon har även medverkat i tidigare upplagor, som initialt författades av Hans Bengtsson. I denna upplaga medverkar två nya författare: Petra Svensson och Sara Svensson, docenter i statsvetenskap och verksamma som lektorer vid Högskolan i Halmstad.

The article analyzes how history is used in the Danish-Swedish crossborder Öresund area. The case study allows for an exploration of memory politics with relation to multiple regional processes (EU, Nordic, Scandinavian), as well as from multiple perspectives (national, subnational and transnational). The article argues that the Nordic arena is in the focus of communicative and cultural memories through storytelling, with emphasis on solidarity and successful institution-building. Yet, conflicting national memories persist as obstacles and current diverting political standpoints at national level (e.g., migration, the Covid pandemic) are likely to affect how history is portrayed regionally. European history, on the other hand, plays a subservient role. For instance, references to the European continent’s totalitarian past are not explicitly used for memory politics, and recollection of the world wars are used in asymmetric modes and with focus on the specific Nordic experience.

The article investigates how local cross-border cooperation organizations reacted to re-bordering policies since 2015, with focus on the re-bordering related to the migration of 2015 and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The article compares the reaction of cross-border cooperation organizations at three European borders, using a typology of resistance, support and acceptance. The findings dem-onstrate how local actors were constrained by complex geopolitical and national interest narratives, and that local responses could take a variety of formats. The article suggests that further research should focus on understanding political-administrative relations within multi-level systems to explain this variety.

This paper draws on findings from an ongoing research project called ”Effects of a multi-module intervention designed to increase critical thinking and the ability to identify misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories in high school students”. The aim of this project is to empirically evaluate an educational intervention consisting of six one-hour sessions. The sessions include traditional lectures regarding critical thinking, misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories but also includes a game (Bad news), and group discussions, all designed to train high school students in critical thinking as well as the capacity to identify disinformation and conspiracy theories. The project combines competences from media and communication studies, psychology, political science, and data communication, and the intervention has so far been implemented in  three Swedish high schools. In the paper we discuss preliminary findings and experiences drawn from the first phase of the project. We will also discuss the applicability of the intervention, and challenges that we have identified. © Author/s

To assess the possible impacts of climate change and plan the necessary adaptation measures, countries need to analyze complex and multilayered information. Data often belongs to different disciplines and institutions and is hard to interpret for policy making in its raw form. Boundary organizations have a pivotal role in facilitating discussion between academic and political actors and producing tools to assist in decision-making processes. Hungary, an Eastern European country, faces climate change effects ranging from changes in precipitation patterns to increasing frequency of weather extremities. This article examines the establishment of a boundary organization, the National Adaptation Centre, and its decision support tool, which aims to assist the territorial planning of the country. Through this, we identify the extent to which the National Adaptation Geo-Information System (NAGiS) tool has had an impact on collaboration pattern designs and policy making. The study finds that NAGiS supports policy development at different levels of governance. At the same time, the introduction of this information and communication technology tool was not sufficient to create a breakthrough or counteract other factors such as the low salience of the issue at the national level. Furthermore, the introduction of NAGiS did not change formal structures or procedures. However, it did have an impact on attitudes toward data sharing, which in turn shaped collaborative practices. The organizations involved generally evaluated the effects of the tool on their collaboration as positive and lasting beyond the development phase of the project. Changed attitudes may prove important for enhanced internal collaborative governance down the line. András Molnár, Sara Svensson, Published by Common Ground Research Networks.

This chapter provides a case study of the use of online platforms for national consultations that target all citizens in Hungary. The Hungarian government, since 2010 led by the national-conservative populist party Fidesz, has carried out what is the most extensive series of consultations in contemporary Europe if measured by the share of citizens involved. The consultations are dominantly conducted by questionnaires that are printed and mailed by the postal service to all citizens, but recent consultations have also offered an online platform. Drawing on previous research on what happens when populist actors employ and institutionalize participatory methods, the chapter extends the inquiry to include the use of an electronic platform. Findings of this work shows that the online component has so far not led to new dynamics, and to the limited extent that it had any effect, it has largely been negative in terms of procedural guarantees. Due to the weakness of technology to prevent abuse, the online version of the consultation eroded rather than enhanced the credibility of the consultation process. The case study serves as a cautionary tale to those believing that e-participation practices ‘by default’ lead to superior normative and/or policy outcomes. 

The paper analyzes how history is used in the Danish-Swedish cross-border Oresund area, located around the metropolitan area of the Danish capital Copenhagen and across the strait of Oresund to the Swedish regions Scania and Halland. The case study allows for an exploration of the use of history with relation to multiple regional processes (EU, Nordic, Scandinavian), as well as from multiple perspectives (national, sub-national and trans-national). The article argues that regional and local discourses focus memory politics on Nordic cooperation in general, with some emphasis on post-War history of Nordic institutional cooperation, but that current diverting political standpoints at national level (migration, crime, the Covid pandemic) may affect how history is portrayed regionally. It further argues that the references to the European continent’s totalitarian past, fascism and colonialism is not explicitly used for memory politics despite an increasing body of critical scholarly research concerning Sweden’s relationship to Nazi-Germany. On the other hand, recollection of the World Wars and the Holocaust are used in asymmetric modes. © 2022, The Author.