Kan staten mörka en nedskärning? - En fallstudie om hur resursurholkningen av högre utbildning kan förstås som en medveten nedskärning av välfärdsstaten

Sammanfattning: The aim of this thesis is to explain the erosion of funding of higher education in Sweden as a retrenchment of the welfare state. The theoretical foundation of the analysis is a specific part of Paul Pierson’s theory The New Politics of the Welfare State, which concerns retrenchment by obfuscation. Pierson’s work is supplemented with the work of Anders Lindbom, which applies the theory in a Swedish context. Retrenchment by obfuscation in the welfare state requires the subjected welfare area to be non-transparent. Based on the work of Pierson and Lindom as a theoretical framework, a coding scheme for non-transparent welfare areas is created. Through the coding scheme the analysis shows that the resource allocation system of higher education can be considered a non-transparent welfare area. Previous work by Anna Fritzell establishes that all areas of higher education in Sweden is subject to erosion of funding. The result of the analysis, together with the work of Fritzell, shows that this specific welfare area may be subject to retrenchments by obfuscation.