sh.sePublications
Change search
Link to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Publications (10 of 12) Show all publications
Björklund, F. & Svenonius, O. (2022). Legitimising Surveillance in Low-Trust Postcommunist Societies. Europe-Asia Studies, 74(6), 919-944
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Legitimising Surveillance in Low-Trust Postcommunist Societies
2022 (English)In: Europe-Asia Studies, ISSN 0966-8136, E-ISSN 1465-3427, Vol. 74, no 6, p. 919-944Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Why do citizens in democratic states allow governments to monitor them? Studies note that consent to surveillance to a large extent depends on trust in public institutions. But how is surveillance legitimised in states where this kind of trust is low, as in most of the European postcommunist countries? Using data from three former communist states, this study investigates the role of trust in close social networks. The results show that so-called 'particular social trust' may work as a substitute for trust in institutions. Particular social trust may produce legitimacy for policy measures, in this case, surveillance.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2022
National Category
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-48649 (URN)10.1080/09668136.2022.2033167 (DOI)000767077300001 ()2-s2.0-85126448341 (Scopus ID)
Funder
The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies, A051-2012
Available from: 2022-03-25 Created: 2022-03-25 Last updated: 2024-05-17Bibliographically approved
Svenonius, O. & Tarasova, E. (2021). “Now We Are Struggling at Least”: Change & Continuity of Surveillance in Post-Communist Societies from the Perspective of Data Protection Authorities. Surveillance & Society, 19(1), 53-68
Open this publication in new window or tab >>“Now We Are Struggling at Least”: Change & Continuity of Surveillance in Post-Communist Societies from the Perspective of Data Protection Authorities
2021 (English)In: Surveillance & Society, E-ISSN 1477-7487, Vol. 19, no 1, p. 53-68Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article presents the results of an interview study carried out with sixteen data-protection authorities in Central and Eastern Europe. The study focuses on the way that data protection authorities reason about the past. The theoretical argument advanced in the text is that data protection in a post-communist context bears a specific historical significance due to the recent experiences with the extensive, coercive state surveillance that was systematized under the communist regimes. The article focuses on the institutional role conceptions of data protection authorities-a theoretical concept that denotes perceptions of the role of an organization within the larger institutional environment. High-level officials from data protection authorities in sixteen countries were interviewed about change and continuity in surveillance. The results show that historical reflectivity is not a dominant feature of the leadership of contemporary data protection authorities and that different countries differ considerably. The respondents least able or willing to discuss the topics of change and continuity are in societies with recent high-level surveillance scandals, such as Bulgaria and North Macedonia.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
SURVEILLANCE STUDIES NETWORK, 2021
Keywords
Data Protection, State Surveillance, Communism, Change, Data-Protection Authorities, Regulation
National Category
Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-48431 (URN)10.24908/ss.v19i1.13477 (DOI)000653774700005 ()2-s2.0-85102989006 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2022-02-18 Created: 2022-02-18 Last updated: 2024-02-15Bibliographically approved
Svenonius, O. & Björklund, F. (2018). Explaining attitudes to secret surveillance in post-communist societies. East European Politics, 34(2), 123-151
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Explaining attitudes to secret surveillance in post-communist societies
2018 (English)In: East European Politics, ISSN 2159-9165, E-ISSN 2159-9173, Vol. 34, no 2, p. 123-151Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article seeks to explain public attitudes to secret surveillance. Secret surveillance, for example wiretapping by intelligence agencies, is a controversial activity that affects fundamental civil liberties in any democratic system. Several large research projects have recently attempted to explain how people form opinions about surveillance in general. Thereby privacy concerns and institutional trust are often highlighted. In this article, we argue that earlier research uses a too narrow definition of attitudes to surveillance and that secret surveillance is particularly sensitive due to its opaque character. We introduce a two-dimensional concept that focuses on rationalistic and emotional responses to surveillance. Drawing on new data from three post-communist societies – Estonia, Poland, and Serbia – we show how institutional trust is mainly responsible for explaining acceptance of secret surveillance, but not how one feels about it. Instead, it is the level of ontological insecurity and privacy concerns that explains this second dimension. The results are theorised and implications for future research are discussed.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Routledge, 2018
Keywords
Central and Eastern Europe, post-communism, privacy, security, Surveillance, trust
National Category
Political Science
Research subject
Baltic and East European studies
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-34837 (URN)10.1080/21599165.2018.1454314 (DOI)000433053300001 ()2-s2.0-85044391889 (Scopus ID)
Funder
The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies, A051-12
Available from: 2018-04-12 Created: 2018-04-12 Last updated: 2020-04-06Bibliographically approved
Svenonius, O. & Björklund, F. (2018). Surveillance from a Post-Communist Perspective. Surveillance & Society, 16(3), 269-276
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Surveillance from a Post-Communist Perspective
2018 (English)In: Surveillance & Society, E-ISSN 1477-7487, Vol. 16, no 3, p. 269-276Article in journal, Editorial material (Other academic) Published
Abstract [en]

This special issue is the result of a research initiative that began in 2013, just before the annexation of Crimea by Russia. We, the guest editors, together with Pawel Waszkiewicz at the University in Warsaw, wanted to fill a gap in research on surveillance, which had at that time not yet addressed post-communist societies to any great extent. Today the situation is slightly different, but the need for further research is still pressing. It is therefore with great pleasure that we present a collection of five research articles by both senior and early-stage researchers, as well as a postscript by Professor Emeritus Maria Los, who is one of the few researchers who has written extensively on surveillance-related issues from a post-communist perspective. Below we introduce the special issue with a conceptual overview of post-communist research and its connections to surveillance studies.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Surveillance Studies Network, 2018
National Category
Political Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-36750 (URN)10.24908/ss.v16i3.12684 (DOI)000447196700001 ()2-s2.0-85057152491 (Scopus ID)
Funder
The Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies
Available from: 2018-11-19 Created: 2018-11-19 Last updated: 2024-02-15Bibliographically approved
Svenonius, O., Björklund, F. & Waszkiewicz, P. (2014). Surveillance, lustration and the open society: Poland and Eastern Europe. In: Kees Boersma, Rosamunde van Brakel, Chiara Fonio, Pieter Wagenaar (Ed.), Histories of State Surveillance in Europe and Beyond: (pp. 95-117). London: Routledge
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Surveillance, lustration and the open society: Poland and Eastern Europe
2014 (English)In: Histories of State Surveillance in Europe and Beyond / [ed] Kees Boersma, Rosamunde van Brakel, Chiara Fonio, Pieter Wagenaar, London: Routledge, 2014, p. 95-117Chapter in book (Other academic)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
London: Routledge, 2014
National Category
Political Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-35897 (URN)2-s2.0-84956565233 (Scopus ID)9780203366134 (ISBN)9780415829465 (ISBN)9781134104864 (ISBN)
Available from: 2018-07-10 Created: 2018-07-10 Last updated: 2018-07-10Bibliographically approved
Björklund, F. & Svenonius, O. (Eds.). (2013). Video Surveillance and Social Control in a Comparative Perspective. New York: Routledge
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Video Surveillance and Social Control in a Comparative Perspective
2013 (English)Collection (editor) (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

This edited collection reports the results of a comparative study of video surveillance/CCTV in Germany, Poland, and Sweden. It investigates how video surveillance as technologically mediated social control is affected by national characteristics, with a specific concern for recent political history. The book is motivated by asking what makes video surveillance "tick" in three very different cultural settings, two of which (Poland and Sweden) are virtually unexplored in the literature on surveillance. The selection of countries is motivated by an interest in societies with recent experiences of authoritarianism, and how they respond to the global trend towards intensified technical means of control. With thorough empirical studies, the book constitutes an important contribution to security studies, surveillance studies, and post-communist area studies.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
New York: Routledge, 2013. p. 218
Series
Routledge studies in science, technology and society, E-ISSN 2156-0765 ; 19
National Category
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies) Peace and Conflict Studies Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Research subject
Politics, Economy and the Organization of Society
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-17198 (URN)10.4324/9780203082904 (DOI)2-s2.0-84916973092 (Scopus ID)978-0-415-62860-0 (ISBN)
Available from: 2012-10-15 Created: 2012-10-15 Last updated: 2025-02-20Bibliographically approved
Svenonius, O. (2013). Video Surveillance in a Historical Perspective. In: Video Surveillance and Social Control in a Comparative Perspective: (pp. 69-96). New York: Routledge
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Video Surveillance in a Historical Perspective
2013 (English)In: Video Surveillance and Social Control in a Comparative Perspective, New York: Routledge, 2013, p. 69-96Chapter in book (Other academic)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
New York: Routledge, 2013
Series
Routledge studies in science, technology and society, E-ISSN 2156-0765 ; 19
National Category
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies)
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-17200 (URN)2-s2.0-84917102626 (Scopus ID)978-0-415-62860-0 (ISBN)
Available from: 2012-10-15 Created: 2012-10-15 Last updated: 2020-09-01Bibliographically approved
Björklund, F. & Svenonius, O. (2013). Video Surveillance in Theory and as Institutional Practice: Introduction. In: Björklund, Fredrika & Svenonius, Ola (Ed.), Video Surveillance and Social Control in a Comparative Perspective: (pp. 1-18). New York: Routledge
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Video Surveillance in Theory and as Institutional Practice: Introduction
2013 (English)In: Video Surveillance and Social Control in a Comparative Perspective / [ed] Björklund, Fredrika & Svenonius, Ola, New York: Routledge, 2013, p. 1-18Chapter in book (Other academic)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
New York: Routledge, 2013
Series
Routledge studies in science, technology and society, E-ISSN 2156-0765 ; 19
National Category
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies) Peace and Conflict Studies Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-17199 (URN)2-s2.0-84916982456 (Scopus ID)978-0-415-62860-0 (ISBN)
Available from: 2012-10-15 Created: 2012-10-15 Last updated: 2025-02-20Bibliographically approved
Svenonius, O. (2012). The Stockholm Security Project: Plural policing, security and surveillance. In: C. William R. Webster, Eric Töpfer, Francisco R. Klauser, and Charles D. Raab. (Ed.), William R. Webster, Eric Töpfer, Francisco R. Klauser, and Charles D. Raab. (Ed.), Video surveillance: practices and policies in Europe (pp. 113-121). Amsterdam: IOS Press
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The Stockholm Security Project: Plural policing, security and surveillance
2012 (English)In: Video surveillance: practices and policies in Europe / [ed] C. William R. Webster, Eric Töpfer, Francisco R. Klauser, and Charles D. Raab., Amsterdam: IOS Press, 2012, p. 113-121Chapter in book (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

This article reports on the results of a study on surveillance and plural policing in the Stockholm public transport system. More specifically, it analyses a SEK 500 million (EUR 55 million) investment called The Security Project, through which the Stockholm public transport authority seeks to address a perceived security deficit among its passengers. At its core, the Security Project was an investment in Sweden's largest CCTV system, and many other surveillance measures. The article describes how surveillance became central to addressing security concerns in the Stockholm public transport system. It applies a diachronic case study methodology and uses a framework that highlights centralisation of governance networks and normative cohesion as means to study plural policing and surveillance. The article addresses current debates on these topics, primarily Coaffee's and Duijnhoven's recent work on urban security. It aims to show how the roles of the police, private security and surveillance practices in general have been altered by the Security Project, and how the project produced contradictory effects through centralisation on the one hand, and a maintained (chaotic) diversity of policing on the other.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Amsterdam: IOS Press, 2012
Series
Innovation and the Public Sector, ISSN 1871-1073 ; 18
Keywords
CCTV, Policing, Public transport, Security governance, Stockholm, Surveillance
National Category
Political Science
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-20677 (URN)10.3233/978-1-61499-113-7-113 (DOI)2-s2.0-84888109365 (Scopus ID)9781614991120 (ISBN)
Available from: 2014-01-13 Created: 2013-12-17 Last updated: 2017-06-21Bibliographically approved
Svenonius, O. (2012). The Stockholm Security Project: Plural policing, security and surveillance. Information Polity, 17(1), 35-43
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The Stockholm Security Project: Plural policing, security and surveillance
2012 (English)In: Information Polity, ISSN 1570-1255, E-ISSN 1875-8754, Vol. 17, no 1, p. 35-43Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This article reports on the results of a study on surveillance and plural policing in the Stockholm public transport system. More specifically, it analyses a SEK 500 million (EUR 55 million) investment called The Security Project, through which the Stockholm public transport authority seeks to address a perceived security deficit among its passengers. At its core, the Security Project was an investment in Sweden's largest CCTV system, and many other surveillance measures. The article describes how surveillance became central to addressing security concerns in the Stockholm public transport system. It applies a diachronic case study methodology and uses a framework that highlights centralisation of governance networks and normative cohesion as means to study plural policing and surveillance. The article addresses current debates on these topics, primarily Coaffee's and Duijnhoven's recent work on urban security. It aims to show how the roles of the police, private security and surveillance practices in general have been altered by the Security Project, and how the project produced contradictory effects through centralisation on the one hand, and a maintained (chaotic) diversity of policing on the other.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Birmingham: IOS Press, 2012
National Category
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies)
Research subject
Politics, Economy and the Organization of Society
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-17201 (URN)10.3233/IP-2012-0264 (DOI)2-s2.0-84870011012 (Scopus ID)
Available from: 2012-10-15 Created: 2012-10-15 Last updated: 2018-01-12Bibliographically approved
Projects
Balancing Integrity and Legal Security: A Comparison of Popular Surveillance in Germany, Sweden and Poland [A076-2007_OSS]; Södertörn UniversityLike Fish in Water? Surveillance in Post-Communist Sociteies [A051-2012_OSS]; Södertörn University; Publications
Björklund, F. (2016). E-government and moral citizenship: the case of Estonia. Citizenship Studies, 20(6-7), 914-931
Organisations
Identifiers
ORCID iD: ORCID iD iconorcid.org/0000-0002-3562-7722

Search in DiVA

Show all publications