The micropolitics of conflicts in total institutions – The case of special approved homes for youths in Sweden

This article focuses on conflicts between youths and staff at special approved homes in Sweden. We direct a special focus at the institutional micropolitics within which these conflicts arise and which the conflicts also contribute to form. Drawing on the work of Emerson and Messinger, our point of departure is an interactionist analysis of the micropolitics of trouble. One focal aspect in our study is the recurring patterns of conflicts – a pattern we have chosen to label the ‘conflict script’. The conflict script is a process set in motion when the staff explicitly state that they have ‘had enough’. Once started, it becomes an imperative and is therefore, in a sense, a consistent micropolitical measure. The conflict script generates immutable positions – the staff cannot back down, since their authority is at stake, and the youths know that resistance will result in the use of coercion. However, what leads to the staff having ‘had enough’ varies between interactions, which thus produces inconsistent micropolitics. The conflict script is central to understanding how trivial breaches of the rules, or other forms of disturbances, can escalate into situations that involve the use of force in the form of physical restraint and isolation.