ACTA UNIVERSITATIS STOCKHOLMIENSIS Stockholm Studies in Sociology NEW
SERIES
38 Enemies of the People Whistle-Blowing and the Sociology of Tragedy Magnus Haglunds ©Magnus Haglunds and Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis , Stockholm 2009 ISSN 0491-0885 ISBN (978-91-86071-25-7) Printed in Sweden by US-AB Tryck & Media, Stockholm 2009 Distributor: eddy.se ab, Visby, Sweden Front cover image ©Gabriel Wentz. Based on the Attic figure “Dike beats Adikia with a hammer” "The motif of falling is a shorthand for tragedy, whereas tragedy is always about the question of whether failure is predetermined by fate, or whether failure is the result of human agency. It poses the question: Can you of your own free will work yourself into a situation with one inevitable outcome: to fall, to fail or to die?" Jan Verwoert on Bas Jan Ader Contents Preface..........................................................................................................xi
 Acknowledgements.......................................................................................xv
 Abbreviations..............................................................................................xvii
 Chapter 1 Introduction.................................................................................19
 The Problem................................................................................................................21
 Enemies of the People.................................................................................................24
 Whistle-Blowing Research...........................................................................................26
 Confusion of Definition...........................................................................................29
 Contradictory Empirical Findings............................................................................32
 Ambivalence of the Whistle-Blower’s Status..........................................................37
 Conclusions............................................................................................................42
 Locating Whistle-Blowing.............................................................................................43
 The Insider..............................................................................................................44
 The Investigative Journalist....................................................................................45
 The Spy..................................................................................................................45
 The Agent Provocateur...........................................................................................46
 The Wild Cat Striker...............................................................................................46
 The Informer...........................................................................................................47
 A Definition...................................................................................................................48
 Chapter 2 Tragedy.......................................................................................50
 The Pharmakos............................................................................................................50
 A Few Opening Remarks.............................................................................................54
 Earlier Usages of Tragedy in Sociological Thought.....................................................57
 Tragedy and Social Order............................................................................................61
 Tragedy and Spheres of Value....................................................................................63
 Tragedy and Social Organization.................................................................................68
 The Narrative Structure of Tragedy.............................................................................72
 Recognition.............................................................................................................73
 Flaw........................................................................................................................74
 Reversal.................................................................................................................77
 Suffering.................................................................................................................77
 Purgation................................................................................................................79
 The Contingency of Tragedy........................................................................................80 A Status Degradation Process.....................................................................................82
 Chapter 3 Method........................................................................................85
 Tragedy and Situational Analysis.................................................................................85
 Principles of Selection..................................................................................................88
 Written Material............................................................................................................90
 Broadcasted Material...................................................................................................94
 Adaption and Codification............................................................................................94
 Approaching the Cases................................................................................................95
 Mass Media—Some Considerations......................................................................95
 Evaluating Assertions in a Controversy..................................................................98
 On The Discrepancy Between Attitude and Action.................................................99
 Analytical Approach..............................................................................................100
 The Armaments Factory Engineer—Ingvar Bratt.......................................................102
 The Seal-Hunting Inspector—Odd F. Lindberg..........................................................104
 The Auditor—Paul van Buitenen................................................................................106
 Chapter 4 Recognition...............................................................................109
 Sensitive Information and Secrets.............................................................................110
 The Limits of Organizational Transparency...............................................................113
 The Hidden Society....................................................................................................114
 Control Inside Organizations......................................................................................119
 Circumspection.....................................................................................................119
 Discipline..............................................................................................................122
 Loyalty..................................................................................................................122
 Context of Discovery..................................................................................................124
 Chapter 5 Flaw..........................................................................................130
 The Bystanders..........................................................................................................130
 The Weakness of Strong Ties....................................................................................134
 Marginal Man.............................................................................................................138
 The Dilemma of Choice.............................................................................................140
 Chapter 6 Reversal....................................................................................146
 Talking Loud..............................................................................................................148
 Decorum....................................................................................................................149
 Conflict Management in the Limelight........................................................................152
 Lack of Evidence..................................................................................................155
 Insincerity.............................................................................................................160
 Transgression of Accepted Social Rules..............................................................168
 Chapter 7 Suffering....................................................................................172
 Feeding the Affair.......................................................................................................174
 Timing........................................................................................................................175
 Two Prerequisites......................................................................................................176 The Coast is Threatened......................................................................................177
 The Job Situation..................................................................................................179
 Condemnation from the World Around......................................................................182
 Hostile Mass Media..............................................................................................183
 The People’s House.............................................................................................186
 The Internal Strifes in Karlskoga................................................................................188
 Charged with Comfort...........................................................................................190
 Waiting for the Barbarians.........................................................................................191
 Norway, Norway, is a Rotten Country........................................................................194
 The End is Nigh.........................................................................................................197
 A Sense of Belonging................................................................................................200
 So, What is The Main Difference?.............................................................................201
 Chapter 8 Purgation...................................................................................203
 A Peep Hole Into The Back Region...........................................................................204
 Hard Times Await.......................................................................................................206
 A Stranger in Our Midst.............................................................................................208
 To Weed Out: Expulsion............................................................................................212
 Pollution and Avoidance............................................................................................216
 Chapter 9 Conclusions..............................................................................219
 References................................................................................................225