How State-Dependent is a Non-State-Driven Rule-Making Project? The Case of Forest Certification in Sweden

Abstract In Sweden, environmental organizations (EOs) have, in co-operation with forest companies and social interest groups, introduced a voluntary certification scheme in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC) principles for sustainable forestry. Sweden was one of the first countries in which a nationally based FSC standard was introduced successfully. It is interesting to examine why a non-state-driven rule-making project has been comparatively successful in Sweden, where the state is often regarded as strong, pragmatic and open for big interest organizations and, therefore, could be expected to be the natural arena for forest regulation initiatives. This article asks: (1) why the certification project was initiated and driven from outside of the state; and (2) to what extent the Swedish state had an impact none the less. The case presented here reveals that the initiatives of EOs were partly motivated by their view that state regulatory processes and frameworks have failed to take care of environmental problems. However, the case also shows indications of state dependency/embeddedness and the article analyses the following factors: (1) regulatory framework; (2) political culture; (3) policy discourse and policy networks; and (4) state legitimacy. These findings suggest that non-state-driven rule-making can receive strength through a positive relationship with the state.