Sweden
Sweden is a high-performing democracy and a constitutional monarchy. With respect to its politics, Sweden has typically been characterized by its consensual political culture, politically active electorate, and its commitment to universal welfare, equal standards and redistribution of wealth. Recently, however, some suggest that this era of the tolerant, multi-cultural welfare state has ended. Sweden’s bid to join NATO in response to the Russian war in Ukraine also signals a shift away from its historical position of neutrality. Sweden’s mixed, competitive economy features sectors such as the automotive, forestry, and telecommunications industries. Over the past five years, Global State of Democracy Indices reveal limited movement across all indicators, and Sweden continues to exhibit high performance across all attributes.
Swedish politics has been undergoing transformation in two respects. Firstly, while its political system has historically been marked by the same five political parties in Parliament, that number has increased to eight since the 2010 elections. The rise of the populist far-right has been particularly transformative in this regard, and more stringent limits on immigration along with rhetoric questioning what is and is not “Swedish” identity has tapped into political debate around Sweden’s acceptance of refugees and asylum seekers. Secondly, while Swedish politics have traditionally been comparatively one-dimensionally dominated by the classic socioeconomic left-right dimension, national political competition has come to be structured along new political cleavages over time - such as in relation to the environment and immigration, as reflected in the repositioning of mainstream parties. These transformations have paved the road for a more turbulent form of politics as it has become harder to form strong coalition governments. New political actors and forms of representation have become increasingly engaged in traditionally party-centered processes – such as civil society actors and policy professionals. This has been evident in some of the key issues that have recently defined the political landscape: the rise of organized violent crime, migration and integration policies, and the welfare and health care system. There has also been some conflict between state interests and indigenous rights – with the state, for example, controversially granting mining rights on Sámi territory.
It is important to watch three key issues. The first area to watch connects to the challenges facing the decentralized nature of the country’s political framework. Municipal politics, in charge of implementing key welfare dimensions such as (but not limited to) healthcare, are increasingly challenged by issues such as (socially representative) recruitment, an ageing population, and the effects of urbanization - both in terms of the increased demand for welfare services in rapidly growing urban areas, and issues of financing and distance to public services in shrinking rural areas. These issues could impact Basic Welfare and Social Group Equality. A second area to watch is higher crime rates and rising social group inequality. Such developments may impact the country’s performance on Civil Liberties. Relatedly, also in connection to Civil Liberties, a third area to watch connects to integration policies – with refugees often struggling to access employment opportunities.
https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/
May 2024
Parliament approves amendments criminalising genocide denial
On 22 May, Parliament passed amendments to the Criminal Code as well as to the Freedom of the Press Ordinance, part of Sweden’s Constitution, clarifying provisions on incitement against ethnic groups. The amendments explicitly criminalise the denial of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. The Criminal Code previously criminalised incitement, threats or disrespect against a group of people based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity, and included a maximum penalty of two years in prison (maximum of four years for serious crimes in cases of particularly threatening or offensive content or distribution to a large number of people). The amendments clarify that these provisions apply to incitement to violence to reduce ambiguity in the application of the law. The provisions further extend protections to individuals belonging to protected groups, and provide the right to damages and status as injured parties. The amendments to the Criminal Code will enter into force on 1 July 2024. The constitutional amendments can only apply from 1 January 2027 after the next parliamentary elections, according to the Constitution.
Sources: SVD, Riksdagen (1), Riksdagen (2), Riksdagen (3), Riksdagen (4), Civil Rights Defenders
April 2024
Controversial Police Act amendment allows the creation of ‘Security Zones’
On 10 April, Parliament approved an amendment to the Police Act, allowing the police to create so-called “Security zones.” The security zones are temporary, geographically limited areas in which the police are allowed to conduct a body search or search a vehicle without concrete suspicion of crime. The decision to search a person or vehicle could instead be based on certain risk profiles, such as wearing clothing brands that are associated with gangs. The law's purpose is to make it easier for the police to find weapons or explosives and to combat rising gang violence. The law has been heavily criticized including by the Equality Ombudsman (DO) and the Swedish Institute for Human Rights, which each expressed strong concerns that the law can lead to ethnic profiling, that it is too extensive in terms of the power it gives the police, and that there is a risk of arbitrary use. The law entered into force on 25 April.
Sources: The Equality Ombudsman, Institute for Human Rights, the Swedish Government, Svt Nyheter (1), Svt Nyheter (2), the Police Act
Masked men attack anti-fascist meeting
A public meeting organized by the Left Party (V) and the Green Party (MP) was attacked by three masked men on 24 April. The meeting was about the growth of fascism and featured speakers from the anti-racist foundation, Expo as well as the Swedish journalist and activist, Mathias Wåg. The attackers deployed a smoke bomb and physically assaulted speakers and attendees. The Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, as well as leaders of the other major political parties, expressed their concern about such an attack on a political meeting. The attack comes as part of a longer trend of increased political violence, with a notable example being the murder that occurred during Almedalen Political Week in 2022.
Sources: SVT, Reuters (1), Swedish Radio, Swedish Security Service, Euractiv, Reuters (2), Government Offices of Sweden
Parliament approves legislation facilitating legal gender changes
On 17 April, Parliament passed a new law making it easier for people to change their legally recognized gender in Sweden’s population register. The law was introduced by the Health and Welfare parliamentary committee and passed with 234 votes in favour and 94 against. The legislation ensures that changing legal gender no longer requires a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria but means a shorter consultation with a doctor is sufficient. Additionally, the age limit for legal gender changes was lowered from 18 years to 16 years with a guardian’s approval. Proponents, such as the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights (Riksförbundet för homosexuellas, bisexuellas, transpersoners, queeras och intersexpersoners rättigheter - RFSL), say the law can contribute to improved personal safety for transgender people. The law will enter into force in July 2025.
Sources: Sveriges Riksdag, RFSL, The Local (1), The Local (2), Svenska Dagbladet
March 2024
Sweden officially joins NATO
On 7 March, Sweden officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as the 32nd member of the alliance. Sweden applied for membership in NATO on 18 May 2022, at the same time as Finland, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Sweden’s accession was drawn out by delayed ratification by existing members, Türkiye and Hungary, who respectively approved Sweden’s membership in January and February 2024. On entering NATO, Sweden leaves behind 200 years of military non-alignment. A long history of close cooperation with NATO and the changing security situation in Europe have led to broad political support for joining NATO, with 269 out of 349 members of the Swedish Parliament voting in favour of Sweden’s accession to NATO.
Sources: Government Offices of Sweden (1), Government Offices of Sweden (2), SVT News, Reuters
Citizens’ assembly on climate change kicks off
On 9 March, a representative sample of 60 Swedish participants convened for the opening of Sweden’s first national citizens’ assembly on climate change. The assembly will consider means for Sweden to lower greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet its international climate commitments. The assembly is run by Fairtrans, a research programme delivered by a consortium of Swedish universities and research institutes. The deliberations will be supported by climate experts who will weigh in with diverse areas of knowledge. The citizens’ assembly will vote on the final recommendations and present their findings on 19 May 2024, including to Swedish policymakers such as the climate policy spokespersons of the parliamentary groups. Participants were selected to be representative of Sweden’s population based on factors such as age, gender, income and political views.
Sources: Stockholm University, Buergerrat, Stockholm Resilience Center, Fairtrans, SVT, Dagens Nyheter
January 2024
Parliament passes amendments to the Aliens Act
As of 1 January, new legislation allows police to physically search people suspected of being illegal immigrants for identity documents (if they fail to provide the documents voluntarily) and retain the documents until their legal status is confirmed or they leave the country. The measures were criticized by Civil Rights Defenders for the risk of ethnic profiling when they were proposed in 2022. On 1 March, further amendments to the Aliens Act will enter into force, allowing for the revocation of “alien passports” for security reasons. “Alien passports” are granted to residence permit holders who cannot safely obtain a home country passport. The changes also expand the grounds for revoking residence permits for individuals suspected of terrorism or state-sponsored industrial espionage. The Council on Legislation cautioned against the changes, due to loosely defined criteria for identifying involvement in terrorism, potentially resulting in arbitrary enforcement.
Sources: Riksdagen – decision (1), Civil Rights Defenders, The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, Riksdagen - decision (2), the Council on Legislation
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