Policy Narratives and Empowerment: Implementation of the Swedish National Violence Prevention Program

ABSTRACT As the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) begins to unpack issues of power and narratives, the main focus has been on power‐over and domination rather than more transformative notions of power‐to and empowerment. This article draws on insights from gender and policy studies and suggests that the NPF benefits from adopting a multifaceted notion of power that includes empowerment as well as domination. In so doing, the article also demonstrates the usefulness of the NPF for feminist scholars interested in unpacking the diversity of actors, strategies, and claims in gender equality policy processes. Empirically, the allocation of government grants as part of the Swedish national violence prevention program is used as a case of representation in the policy process, with funding applications providing a novel source of narrative data. The analysis displays a moderate level of diversity among the represented groups—although with a strong emphasis on children and youth as the victims or at‐risk communities. The article also demonstrates how the reconstruction of narratives—by connecting characters, plots, and policy solutions—displays a (lack of) diversity in narratives told about different groups of victims.