ohjausvaltaa

Ohjausvalta is a concept in political science and public administration that refers to the steering power of a central actor—typically the state or a public administration—over the actions of other actors such as firms, municipalities, or public organizations. It describes a non-coercive form of influence, exercised through policy instruments that guide behavior rather than compel it, including regulatory standards, information campaigns, financial incentives, procurement conditions, licensing, and voluntary agreements.

The term is used to analyze how governments shape economic and social activity without resorting to direct command-and-control measures. In Finnish practice, ohjausvalta encompasses the use of guidelines, contractual arrangements, performance agreements, and funding criteria to align the actions of subnational authorities, public agencies, industry players, and other stakeholders with public objectives. It sits alongside more coercive forms of influence and is often discussed in the context of governance and the regulatory state.

Mechanisms of ohjausvalta include setting norms and expectations, shaping incentives through subsidies or penalties, specifying technical or ethical standards, and coordinating through networks or platform governance. The effectiveness of ohjausvalta depends on administrative capacity, legitimacy, and the degree of voluntary compliance among target actors, and it may be complemented by formal regulation.

Critics note that its reach can be uneven and difficult to measure, and that potent ohjausvalta risks capture, ambiguity, or unequal effects. Related concepts include soft power, governance, steering, and regulatory state. See also: state capacity, administrative law, policy instruments.