Since the 1930s, LO has employed experts to strengthen its political position and create a knowledge base for proposals and debate. The researchers balance between using academic methods and representing the needs of members
Staffan Edling says that the original idea was to do field studies and observe the investigative work on the ground for a year, but that was not possible, so instead he was allowed to interview as many people as he wanted and tag along on workplace visits.
- It was interesting to go along and explore that world. I was able to approach big questions empirically.
The dissertation focuses on three questions:
- How the language in LO's reports is shaped.
- How the researchers represent the members.
- How LO's work relates to science and politics.
How is political knowledge created?
Staffan Edling's research provides important insights into political knowledge production. Opponent Professor Linda Sonneryd, Örebro University, summarised the importance of the thesis during the defence:
- The thesis was fun to read. We now know much more about knowledge production in political organisations and about LO.
The research sheds light on how knowledge and politics can interact in practice - and what other organisations can learn from this. It also provides a greater understanding of how investigators navigate the desire to find out about the world and the goal of promoting the organisation's interests. In the future, Staffan Edling is keen to continue researching the relationship between science and policy.
- I want to find out more about different types of knowledge production outside academia, in addition to trade unions and interest organisations, government agencies are interesting.
About the thesis
On Friday 6 December Staffan Edling successfully defended his thesis 'Political Epistemology: Knowledge and Influence in Trade Union Research' and was awarded the title of Doctor of Sociology. His supervisors were Sara Eldén and Alison Gerber.
The thesis is available in Lund University's Research Portal.