BOOK REVIEW
Steven Arnfjord’s bookGreenland’s social policy – the formation of an Arctic welfare society, provides a thorough and well-disposed review of the development of Greenland’s social policy over the past century – with particular emphasis on the reforms and strategic initiatives of recent decades.
It ranges from the children’s and young people’s area to the elderly, the disabled, the homeless and the long-term unemployed.
A consistent point is the significant discrepancy between political ambitions and real social reality. At one point, according to the author, there were as many as 71 (high-flying!) active strategies in the Self-Government, some of which concern the social area. Added to this is the incorporation of UN rights and a sustained political rhetoric of improvement.
Despite much action on the part of the Self-Government, the social problems remain extensive. We know the numbers – they speak their own language. And it is precisely this gap between will and effect that Arnfjord revolves around.
The book’s strength lies especially in the analysis of the implementation phase. When Inatsisartut has adopted the laws and the departments have drawn up decrees and guidelines, the most difficult phase begins: the practical implementation in the municipalities. This is where the challenges arise.
The municipal manager who asks: “Now there is a strategy in the area of the homeless, but how should we introduce it?” frames the problem precisely. Strategies are adopted – but putting them into practice lags behind.
To shed light on this problem, Arnfjord draws on the American political scientist Michael Lipsky and his concept of street-level bureaucracy. In official language, this means: the frontline employees – social workers, pedagogues, teachers and nurses – who ultimately implement the legislation in the meeting with the citizens.
Lipsky’s point is clear: A reform is only completed when it works in practice. Here, the book makes a significant contribution to the understanding of why many Greenlandic reforms lose power along the way.
As a former lecturer in public administration at Ilisimatusarfik, I have often wondered that public administration has not had a stronger position at the university in a society with a relatively large public sector.
Precisely for this reason, Arnfjord’s book emphasizes the importance of research in implementation and management processes. It is an obvious – and perhaps also the closest – place to start if you want to strengthen the functioning of the welfare system.
It is in continuation of Lipsky’s research that one – as a reviewer – can frame the problem in a classic is/should discussion. Politicians often formulate how society should be, but the implementation is confronted with how it actually is. When legislation is designed based on the ideal state rather than the concrete realities in the municipalities, it becomes difficult to implement.
An older example could be “The Good School” from 2002, where school buildings had to be significantly expanded in order to live up to the reform’s ambitions, this field of tension illustrates. More than twenty years after the adoption, the intentions are far from being fully realized.
The book also has its (few) weaknesses. In several places, the conclusions appear relatively predictable. When the collective is implicitly presented as normatively desirable, and the individual as problematic, a more developed analysis is missed. It may very well be that this assessment is correct, but the reader could benefit from being presented with a clearer argumentation and empirical underpinning.
Overall, Greenland’s social policy – the formation of an Arctic welfare society is an important and timely publication. It focuses on the difficult art of implementation and points to the need for systematic evaluations if reforms are to have a real effect. The book thus contributes significantly to the social debate in Greenland – not least because it maintains attention on those it is all about: the most vulnerable citizens.
Steven Arnfjord: Greenland’s social policy – the formation of an Arctic welfare society. 268 pages, U press.
