Falling between the chairs or too many chairs to fall on? A narrative policy analysis of outdoor recreation in Swedish policymaking

Sammanfattning: Friluftsliv, Swedish for outdoor recreation, is a relevant concept for sustainable development, yet as a political objective, friluftsliv is struggling to gain a foothold in Swedish public policymaking. To generate knowledge of how friluftsliv is used in policymaking, and to address the growing demand for friluftsliv by the public, I explore visions of friluftsliv as articulated in the Swedish Parliament Chamber between 2010-2021. Utilizing an interpretive approach to the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF), I identify and analyze four dominant policy narratives of friluftsliv: the Multi-use forestry, Profitability, Affordability, and Municipality narratives. My analysis adds to literature stating that friluftsliv as a political objective lacks its own platform and rests on a merger with external values, which largely depends on definitions of public interests. The narratives manifest juxtapositions of public and private interests and central and local mandates. Hence, friluftsliv as an objective risk getting increasingly polarized and invokes consensus-making approaches.