Institutional response to external shock – Can crises induce a sustainable transition of the Swedish transport system?

The project is an investigation of how institutions related to state investments in transport infrastructure have changed in the face of socio-economic crises. The Swedish transport sector is one of the most hard-to-abate sectors as regards greenhouse gases.

Thus, institutions facilitating a more active role for the in the sector’s sustainability transition could make an important difference.

In this project, sociological theory of institutional change and sociological literature on sustainability transitions are used to analyse the transport decarbonisation discourse in Sweden over 15-years, meaning the institutional response to the socio-economic crisis of 2007 and the Corona crisis are studied.

Questions concern whether formal and informal rules, as well as world-views, have changed due to external pressure, and what the implications of such changes are for a sustainable transition of the transport sector.

Specifically, the project looks into whether state investments into sustainable transport projects have been made easier due to a re-evaluation of formal and informal rules for how the state can lead sustainable transitions, and fundamental ideas about what the state can and cannot do.

The investigation is based on qualitative analysis of governmental propositions, opinion pieces and longer news items in print media, and key reports from public and private agencies.