Folkbildningens förändrade landskap: En studie av ABF:s arbete och utmaningar

Abstract

This thesis explores how workers within the Swedish educational association ABF (Arbetarnas Bildningsförbund) experience the shifting political and ideological landscape of contemporary Sweden. As folkbildning, Sweden's long-standing model of voluntary civic education faces budget cuts, increased control, and growing political scrutiny, this ethnographic study investigates how these broader structural transformations shape the everyday conditions, values, and agency of those working within the field. The aim is to understand how workers interpret, navigate, and respond to new demands stemming from neoliberal governance and shifting hegemonies. The study draws on participant observation and in-depth interviews conducted at a local ABF branch over a two-month fieldwork period. The theoretical framework includes concepts of hegemony, opposition, and governmentality, which help situate local experiences within larger power dynamics. The findings reveal a growing tension between folkbildning's traditional ideals, such as long-term empowerment, inclusion, learning for the sake of learning and emerging demands for efficiency, measurability, and market adaptation. Informants express that recent reforms, justified by the need to prevent misuse of public funds, may instead reflect an ideological effort to weaken the democratic role of folkbildning. Despite these challenges, workers also show subtle forms of resistance, reasserting the civic and emancipatory mission of their work. This thesis contributes to understanding how political shifts affect not only public policy but also the everyday practices and moral logics of civil society actors. It emphasizes the importance of listening to those tasked with implementing state policies on the ground and reveals how ideological change can quietly reshape the boundaries of civic action. The thesis is written in Swedish.