Katrin Uba

Uppsala University, Department of Government, Faculty Member

Followers

242

Following

Co-authors

Public Views

Katrin Uba is Ass.Prof. in Political Science at Uppsala University. Her research focuses on social movements with a specific focus on labour movements and climate protests, protest event data and analysis and political consequences of mobilization. Current projects study the threat and notice of a strike, climate protests and the political impact of environmental protests in Sweden.
Address: Uppsala

less

InterestsView All (9)

Uploads

Articles by Katrin Uba

Intergenerational Blame Attribution and Political Ageism among Young Europeans

Recent crises have raised concerns about intergenerational fairness and conflict and claims that ... more Recent crises have raised concerns about intergenerational fairness and conflict and claims that older generations imperil the future of young people. These arguments may reflect the political intolerance towards older adults: political ageism. Why and which kinds of young people are more likely to adhere to such views is still uncertain. Prior studies refer to the importance of perceived threats and authoritarian values. We introduce an interaction effect, suggesting that perceived threats temper the impact of authoritarian values on intergenerational blame attribution and discriminatory views against older individuals' political rights. The analysis of survey data from nine European countries, focusing on respondents aged 18-34, reveals that perceived economic threat rarely relates to increased ageism. Young individuals with authoritarian values are likelier to attribute intergenerational blame and hold politically ageist views. In Sweden and the UK, however, the effect of authoritarian values diminishes when young people perceive economic threats.

Download

Defenders of the status quo: energy protests and policy (in)action in Sweden

Social Forces, 2024

Are the positions that protesters take—in favor or against change—consequential for their ability... more Are the positions that protesters take—in favor or against change—consequential for their ability to affect policy? While previous research suggests that protests can inform legislative priorities and facilitate policy introduction, this paper emphasizes policy inaction and stasis as goals of some protest actions. Analysis uses novel and detailed data on energy-related protest and policy actions in Sweden covering a forty-year period and considers protest frequency and size in relation to proposal introduction. The research design uniquely distinguishes between protests in favor or against a specific energy source and proposal activity in line with those demands and also controls for public opinion on each energy source. Findings suggest that pro-renewable energy protests do not yield pro-renewable policies but prevent undesired policies that support non-renewable energy sources. In contrast to pro-renewable protests, protests against renewable energy sources are somewhat more influential. They likewise prevent the introduction of their undesired proposals and also influence the introduction of proposals supporting non-renewable energy sources. Overall, the paper examines policy inaction as a desired protest outcome and argues protest—as a tactic—may be more effective when pushing against rather than for policy change.

format_quoteAnti-renewable lobbying is more effective; 3.5 pro-change lobbyists needed to counter 1 against, highlighting lawmakers' status quo bias.format_quote

Download

Cycles of labour protests: public and private sector unions' contentious actions

This paper aims to examine the cycle of labour protests in Sweden, comparing the contentious acti... more This paper aims to examine the cycle of labour protests in Sweden, comparing the contentious actions of trade unions in public and private sectors over 40 years. Prior studies have focused on industrial conflicts or labour protests, but a long-term perspective on the broad protest repertoire across sectors is lacking. The goal is to test the argument of diversification of action repertoire and differences between the public and private sectors.
The authors apply the grievance and political opportunity theories of social movement research for explaining the cycles of labour protests and differences between sectors in Sweden over 40 years (1980-2020). The unique protest event data are combined with the official strike statistics. The research period includes the globalisation of the economy and two economic crises.
Although unions in both sectors have decreased protest mobilisation over time, private sector unions have resigned the most, whereas public sector unions continue to mobilise a diverse set of protest actions. Swedish unions have not replaced strikes with other protest repertoires. The open opportunities have allowed them to use various protests as part of "routine" operations.
Protest event data are derived from newspapers, leading to an overrepresentation of large events in the urban areas. Future studies should combine data from newspapers with data about online protests. Originality/value-By thoroughly examining all protest events mobilised by all trade unions in different sectors over 40 years (1980-2020), the paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the cycles of labour protest. The findings should interest industrial relations and social movement scholars.

format_quoteSignificant transformation of Swedish unions due to globalization; high unionization (70%) contrasts with declining protest intensity.format_quote

Download

Experience of economic hardship and right-wing political orientation hinder climate concern among European young people

Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 2022

While there is extensive literature about public concern about climate change, most studies rely ... more While there is extensive literature about public concern about climate change, most studies rely on cross-sectional static data. Based on a unique panel survey conducted in nine European countries in 2018 and 2019, we make a rare investigation of factors that explain why some young people (age: 18–34 years) are, have become or have lost their concern about climate and environmental issues at times of widespread discussions about the climate emergency. The analysis tests argument about the importance of individual-level factors such as values and political orientations and consider the role of cross-national variations, the experience of extreme weather events and youth-led climate strikes. Our results support prior studies as we find that young people with libertarian rather than authoritarian values, with more positive views towards immigration and redistribution policies, tend to be more concerned about climate change and the environment. We find little effect of contextual factors. Young people who have experienced economic hardship and have a right-wing political orientation are less likely to become concerned for climate and environmental issues. Socio-economic conditions, values and political orientations are crucial to understanding climate concern among young Europeans, affecting youth climate engagement at times of increasing inequalities and polarization.

Collective Action Outcomes: Ways Forward for the Subfield

by Katrin Uba and lorenzo bosi

Partecipazione e Conflitto [Participation and Conflict], 2021

Given the growing interest in how collective action matters, this special issue seeks to push our... more Given the growing interest in how collective action matters, this special issue seeks to push our understanding of collective action outcomes beyond the present state of knowledge and stimulate further developments. In doing this, it looks to improve and expand the theoretical and conceptual tools for studying the topic, suggest and explore methodological innovations to solve previous research problems and investigate new settings across various movements and countries.

Download

New kids on the block: Taking stock of the recent cycle of climate activism

Social Movement Studies, 2020

Since late 2018, a global wave of mobilization under the banners of Fridays For Future (FFF) and ... more Since late 2018, a global wave of mobilization under the banners of Fridays For Future (FFF) and Extinction Rebellion (XR) has injected new energy into global climate politics. FFF and XR took the world by storm, but have now been forced into (partial) latency as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. We believe this moment presents an opportunity for reflection. In particular, FFF and XR have been depicted as 'new' forms of climate activism. However, we argue that the extent to which these campaigns represent 'new' forms of climate activism is really a matter for closer investigation. In this Profile, we therefore reflect on the distinctiveness of the 'new climate activism' as compared to previous climate campaigns. Reviewing previous studies and our own research, we find that there are both elements of change and continuity in who participates and how, and that the main change appears to be the use of a more politically 'neutral' framing of climate change that is directed more strongly at state than non-state actors.

Download

(Non)Environmental Alternative Action Organizations under the Impacts of the Global Financial Crisis: A Comparative European Perspective

by Maria Kousis and Katrin Uba

Sustainability, 2021

Hard economic times have been considered obstacles for environmental activism by many environment... more Hard economic times have been considered obstacles for environmental activism by many environmental scholars, yet works, mostly based on case studies, on alternative action organizations (AAOs) during times of increasing livelihood vulnerability show considerable environmental activism. We explain this inconsistency by arguing that AAOs mobilizing at times of crisis opt for direct action, using strategies of citizens’ solidarity initiatives centering on meeting basic needs and sustainability goals and thereby carry on the environmental claim-making in a new way. To this end, we compare environmental AAOs (EAAOs) with non-environmental ones using a cross-national dataset of 4157 hubs-retrieved AAOs active during the economic crisis (2007–2016), in France, Greece, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK. Given that EAAOs constitute more than one-third of all AAOs, it is clear that environmental protection or sustainable development are not neglected even at times of economic hardships. Instead, the crisis provides an opportunity to broaden the scope of action for existing organizations that can adopt sustainability activities focusing on alternative practices and lifestyles, improving societal resilience. We further show that EAAOs tend to be informal and, to an extent, more concentrated on contention and protests than non-environmental organizations.

Download

Explaining youth radicalism as a positioning of the self at opposite extremes

by Katrin Uba and lorenzo bosi

Politics, 2021

The concept of 'young radicals' is gaining ground in a context of generalized discontent-often, t... more The concept of 'young radicals' is gaining ground in a context of generalized discontent-often, this is due to the fact that young people engage increasingly in unconventional forms of political activism. Much less is known about young people holding radical political attitudes. This article advances our understanding of those young people who place themselves on the extremes of the ideological scale and investigates how those with radical right attitudes differ from those with radical left ones. Drawing on a survey that gathers data from nine European countries, with a sample of young people aged 18-35, we test those factors that have been used to explain why people use violent repertoires of action: social background, gender, political values, and prior experience in protest activism. The results relate 'radicalness' to experienced economic difficulties and the more contentious political activism. The difference between the young 'radicals' in right and left are, however, defined by gender and adherence to authoritarian values.

format_quoteOnly 3% of young Poles and 1% of Germans gravitate towards radical right ideologies, reflecting national political contexts.format_quote

Download

Special Issue Political campaigns on YouTube: trade unions' mobilisation in Europe

by Katrin Uba and Jenny Jansson

New Technology, Work and Employment, 2020

Trade unions are called to increase their influence on policy making by becoming more politically... more Trade unions are called to increase their influence on policy making by becoming more politically active and use social media, but only a few studies investigate unions' online political activism. We propose that industrial relations regime of a country relates to unions' perceived opportunities for mo-bilisation and thereby also unions' online political activism. We test this argument with the help of data about European trade union confederations' political mobilisation on YouTube, 2007-2017. The results showed, expectedly, that resource-rich confederations in the organised corporatist regime (Scandina-via) use YouTube for political activism to lesser degree than in other regimes; when these confederations do pursue political activism, such videos are often related to elections and reflect the political party-union relationship. Unexpectedly, the resource poor confederations in the transitional regime (Central and Eastern Europe) mobilised politically on YouTube to the same extent as have the confederations in the social partnership , liberal and state-centred regimes.

Download

Deliberative Civic Culture: Assessing the Prevalence of Deliberative Conversational Norms

Political Studies, 2020

Citizens’ adherence to deliberative civic values fulfils a vital function in deliberative democra... more Citizens’ adherence to deliberative civic values fulfils a vital function in deliberative democratic systems. We propose a way to measure the prevalence and variations of such values as a first step to better understanding how this works. Based on survey data, we demonstrate that, in Sweden, adherence to the values of reasoning and listening is stronger than adherence to the strategic rhetorical, non-deliberative values. This may have important implications for our understanding of how deliberation and democracy work in this particular context. There are also, however, important individual-level variations of adherence to deliberative civic values related to age, education, gender and Swedish background. Taken together, this opens up for a new research agenda where comparative analyses of deliberative civic values and how it relates to political behaviour are particularly encouraged.

Youth- and Crime-Related Political Claims in Comparative Perspective

American Behavioural Scientist, 2019

This article analyzes youth collective activism in relation to crime and violence in the context ... more This article analyzes youth collective activism in relation to crime and violence in the context of long-term dominance of “moral panics” discourse, where young people are often framed as a “threat” and “problem.” While many prior studies focus on media presentation of youth in single countries, we investigate how youth actors themselves make political claims related to crime and violence, and take a comparative perspective on this question. Based on a unique data on youth-related political claims from the newspapers of nine European countries—France, Greece, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, we demonstrate that youth are rarely present in the public discussions about crime and violence, especially in the countries where youth actors face restricted discursive opportunities in the print media. The dominant “adult view” in claims about crime and violence often connect youth to diverse social problems and attribute blame to youth more often than to adults; the claims made by youth do not make such a difference in blame attribution.

Download

Conclusion: Outlook for Studying the Interaction between Social Movements and Institutions | Bretterblog

Download

Deliberative protests? Persuading politicians not to close schools in Swedish municipalities

Studies on the political impact of protest mobilization sometimes show that disruptive protests h... more Studies on the political impact of protest mobilization sometimes show that disruptive protests help social movements achieve their goals. This is conventionally explained by politicians' interests in re-elections and social control, ultimately neglecting alternative arguments such as the drive for better policy solutions. This study investigates if well-reasoned arguments – measured by the deliberative quality of protest letters against school closures – persuade Swedish municipal decision-makers more than simple outcries. Analysis demonstrates support for this argument, as schools defended by protest letters with a higher deliberative quality have higher probability to remain open than schools defended by letters of a lower deliberative quality. However, a fundamental paradox rises from the second conclusion: intrinsically non-deliberate forms of protests, such as demonstrations, have a stronger negative effect on the likelihood of school closures. Hence, well-reasoned communicative practices have some power of persuasion, but experienced activists may prefer disruptive protests for more political leverage.

format_quoteDisruptive protests correlate with a higher likelihood of achieving activist goals despite being less persuasive than reasoned arguments.format_quote

Download

THE POWER OF PROTESTS – STOPPING THE CONSTRUCTION OF A HYDRO-POWER PLANT IN SÖLVBACKA STREAMS, 1978-79 // Protesternas makt i Sverige: hur mobilisering och alliansbyggande stoppade vattenkraftverket i Sölvbacka strömmar 1978-79

by Katrin Uba and Jenny Jansson

This article describes and analyses how small protests against the construction of hydropower pla... more This article describes and analyses how small protests against the construction of hydropower plant at local level can take a national scale and lead to a rare occasion where Swedish parliament overruns a governmental decision. This event in 1979 had significant consequences for the government, which had to pay 270 million crone compensation to the enterprise that was willing to build the plant in Sölvbacka in northern Sweden. With the reference to the research on political consequences of social movements, we propose that this small group of local activists achieved their goals thanks to the continued protests, help of significant political allies at the local and national level, and the general political context which dominated in Sweden after the elections in 1979. The study demonstrates that even small groups of citizens in the remote areas can have an impact on environmental or energy politics by sustaining its mobilisation and gaining support from important political allies.

Civil Society Making Political Claims: Outcries, Interest Advocacy, and Deliberative Claims

by Katrin Uba and PerOla Öberg

Public Administration Review

Increased citizen participation is proposed to remedy democratic deficits. However, it is unclear... more Increased citizen participation is proposed to remedy democratic deficits. However, it is unclear whether such participation improves reason-based discussions or whether it serves mainly as a safety valve for discontented citizens. To what extent does citizen-initiated participation involve reason-based arguments? This study examines citizens’ reason giving based on unique data on citizens’ contacts with local authorities in Sweden. It provides support for proponents of deliberative participation, as an unexpected amount of contacts provided reasons for clearly stated positions and invitations to a constructive dialogue with authorities. There is variation across issues. More conflictual issues involve fewer intentions to participate in a reasoned exchange of arguments. The study shows that citizens deliver more reason-based input to democratic decision making when they prepare their position in groups than when they participate as individuals. Findings are preliminary but clearly illustrate the fruitfulness of widening the research agenda on civic engagement in politics and public administration.