Power Dynamics in Barnahus Collaboration

Abstract

Barnahus collaboration spans different regulatory fields and brings together conflicting logics, creating an institutional tension between justice and welfare. In this chapter, collaboration in Swedish Barnahus is analysed in a critical manner, drawing on institutional theory and a three-dimensional concept of power. The complex institutional power dynamics evolving in Barnahus collaboration are illustrated, and subsequently how the tension between justice and welfare is negotiated and balanced. A central conclusion is the identified process of ‘juridification’ as an institutional power effect. Since multi-agency collaboration often exerts a cognitive power that builds on consensus, the framework presented in this chapter-revealing underlying conflicts of interests and power imbalances-is very important for understanding Barnahus collaboration, as well as other similar contexts of collaboration and integrated services.