Towards active citizenship and caring democracy? User participation in Norwegian long-term care

The conceptualisation of a caring democracy provides strong arguments against neoliberal welfare states. However, there is currently a knowledge gap regarding how non-market-oriented welfare states are striving to reach their intention of a caring democracy. Based on a qualitative study, this article uses the case of Norwegian long-term care services for older people to provide insight into
how this intention is practised in everyday care service settings when the current development is about active citizenship. The findings show ethical dilemmas for care managers and healthcare professionals, positioned on the front line of combining the creation of active citizens with the democratisation of services.