Values, beliefs and elite decision-making : The case of the Markbygden wind power development

The outputs of political processes, i.e. policy, reflect rational cost-benefit calculations and power relationships, but are also shaped by the values and beliefs of policy actors, i.e. sovereigns, involved in the decision-making process. Values and beliefs affect how rational analyses and power relationships are understood and valued by sovereigns. This article suggests that understanding sovereigns’ values and beliefs is, however, necessary but insufficient for understanding concrete policy outputs, particularly in complex policy processes characterized by conflicting interests and values. In such cases, sovereigns are forced to prioritize among their values and beliefs. This article proposes a framework for studying how sovereigns prioritize among their values and beliefs. This framework is then used to study a complex policy process ridden with conflicts of interest and value-conflicts, which highlights the value and necessity of studying sovereigns, their values and beliefs, as well as the prioritizations they make among those values and beliefs.