I am professor in Sociology at the Institute for Futures Studies in Stockholm. I am Secretary General for the Humanities and Social Sciences at the Swedish Research Council, and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
My current research mainly concerns “policy professionals”, that is, people who are employed to do politics and affect politics rather than elected to office. They include groups such as political advisors, political secretaries, PR consultants, think-tank intellectuals, and other groups. I study the work of policy professionals as a form of political influence, and their motivations, careers, and labour market.
The most important publication from the project is ”Politics for Hire. The World and Work of Policy Professionals” (Edward Elgar 2020).
I also to research on expert reports and their role in Swedish health care governance in a project led by Erica Falkenström at the Institute for Futures Studies.
Svallfors, Stefan Politics for Hire. The World and Work of Policy Professionals. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2020.
Svallfors, Stefan The Inner World of Research. On Academic Labor. London: Anthem Press, 2020.
Selling, Niels & Svallfors, Stefan “The lure of power: Career paths and considerations among policy professionals in Sweden”. Politics & Policy, Vol 47 (5) (2019): 984-1012.
Svallfors, Stefan The Moral Economy of Class. Class and Attitudes in Comparative Perspective. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2006.
Svallfors, Stefan ‘Worlds of Welfare and Attitudes to Redistribution: A Comparison of Eight Western Nations’ European Sociological Review, Vol 13 (1997), pp 283-304. [reprinted in Leibfried, Stephan & Mau, Steffen (Eds.) Welfare States: Construction, Deconstruction, Reconstruction (Vol III: Legitimation, Achievements and Integration), pp 331-52, Edward Elgar, 2008]
Stefan Svallfors Class, attitudes and the welfare state: Sweden in comparative perspective, Social policy & administration 38 (2) (2004), 119-138.
