Mellan politik och funktion - En studie av öresundskomiteen som en politisk arena ur ett radikaldemokratiskt perspektiv.
Radical democracyCross border regionsMeta-governancePoliticsGlobalisationPolitical and administrative sciencesStatsvetenskapFörvaltningskunskapLaw and Political Science
The concept of the dynamic region has become a more prospering thought in the era of globalisation. This concerns in particular, cross border regions ? well-integrated territorial regions crossing more than one nation. In this paper I examine the development from a critical perspective and I map the democratic pitfalls of new territorial political constructions across national borders. The empirical analysis is a case report taken from the Öresund region, a cross border region between Sweden and Denmark. I?ve analysed ?Öresundskomiteen?, a private interest organisation, who co-ordinates much of the political co-operation in the region. Although the committee doesn?t have any formal decision right in political questions, it plays an important role as an agenda setter and co-ordinator for political questions. Using the analytical conceptions politics and the political, developed by Chantal Mouffe, I question the simplified view that political issues can be completely separated from functional and technical ones. My conclusion is that Öresundskomiteen plays a political role and matters in the political process. It can?t just be regarded as a private organisation, dealing with unpolitical, technical questions facilitating integration in the region. I argue from a radical democratic perspective that the political character of Öresundskomiteen must be recognised for a well functioning democratic future.