Sweden
S. Theodoulou
Sweden today
• The Model of social democratic society.
• 1990s: Many social benefits were
eliminated and taxes increased.
• A rich industrialized society facing
economic recession and crucial
dilemmas:
– How can economic deficit and
unemployment be controlled without
dismantling the Welfare State?
– How can the State provide good services
without overtaxing its citizens?
The Social Democratic Party
• In power since 1932 (alone or in coalitions)
• No other Western political party in
democratic settings enjoyed such popular
support
– Hegemony of labor (today going through a crisis)
• A century ago, the Social Democrats aspired
to public ownership of the economy (radical)
• 1930s Move to the center due to the alliance
with the Agrarian Party (more moderate)
Modern Sweden Politics
• 1920s Social Reforms
• 1930s Unionization
1930s Consensus
• Sweden would be a capitalist society
• The state would provide for full
employment and economic growth
• Benefits of growth would be
redistributed equally
• Capital/labor relations regulated in a
(neo)corporative fashion—
democratic corporatism
The Most Comprehensive
Welfare State on earth
• Goal: redistribution of wealth through social
benefits
• Welfare services are seen as a part of citizen’s
rights ( the US)
• Expansion during 1940s & 1950s
• The highest level of income taxes in the West
suported the Welfare State
• 1960s: extension of all benefits to immigrants—
Immigrants should be treated as equals in all
respects.
Tage Erlander: Social Democratic Party
leader and Prime Minister (1946-69)
“It is a mistake to think that the freedom of human beings,
whether in the economic area or the political one, will
diminish if they agree to join forces to do such things as
they cannot manage by themselves. What is... The main
part of our political activity other than attempts to organize
such cooperation? We want health insurance, but nobody
can manage that of his own. We must therefore create the
opportunity for a colective solution. The same is true with
respect to our wish to provide social security, to improve
our roads, schools, defense, etc. All our political activities
are filled with our striving to secure community cooperation
to solve such tasks, which we can accomplish together, but
which we cannot solve by ourselves” (1954)
Challenges:
• The expansion of the welfare state
required economic growth with
stabilization of wages (to avoid inflation)
• 1970s (after the 1973 oil crisis)
– High inflation
– Foreign debt
– Large budget deficits
1976 elections
• After 44 years, the social democrats
were defeated by a coalition of
conservative parties
• (Question: Why did conservatives
gain room almost everywhere in the
mid 70s?)
Opposition
• Neo-left (blamed the social democrats
for environmental damage, gender
inequality, etc.)
• Labor (radicalized demands
questionning the employers’ power and
even property rights)
• Employers/businesspeople: the public
sector looked too big to them while
employees had too much power
Austerity Measures,Protests,
and Political Changes
• May 1980 general strike
• May 1981 white collar massive strike (& split
of the coalition in government)
• 1982 Return of the Social Democrats to power
(until 1991, alone or in coalitions)
• 1991/4 Centrist coalition of the Center, Liberal,
and Christian Democrat parties (Bildt)
• 1994 Return of the Social Democrats, now
allied to the center/right
• Need of redefining a new consensus between
labor and capital
Present Dilemmas
• How does the Swedish State afford to
provide good quality social services
without increasing taxes or the public
debt?
• Can the Swedish continue affording to
extend all benefits to all immigrants,
before both the prolonged recession and
the increasing flow of immigrants?
State & Gvt.
• Constitutional Monarchy
– 1975 Constitution (the monarchy plays
only a symbolic role—the
monarch=head of state)
• Parliamentary System
• Sweden is a unitary state (all local
and national institutions are
subordinated to the Parliament and
the Central Gvt.)
The Executive
• Cabinet, responsible before the Riksdag or
national legislature. Chosen by the prime
minister. Standing committees.
– 50 autonomous central agencies (headed by
directors)
• The prime minister, head of gvt. (leader of the
majority party or coming from the largest party
within a winning coalition) leads the cabinet,
defines policy, and speaks for the cabinet before
the legislature
– A deputy prime minister (coordinates
activities)
– Royal chancery (helps the prime minister)
The Legislature
• Unicameral Legislature (349 members elected by
popular vote through PR—four-year term)
– 310 seats distributed along Sweden’s 28 constituencies
– 39 seats distributed according to the parties’ share of
votes
– Parties must obtain at least 4 percent of the national
vote or 12 percent of local vote
• (purpose: to eliminate small parties)
• Law-making body/source of cabinet members &
prime minister (through the Speaker)
• Speaker & three vice speakers (organize debates)
• 16 standing committees ( the U.S., although the
Swedish committees cannot “kill” bills)
The Judiciary
• Civil Law influenced by customary law
• Completely independent (though appointed by
the prime minister and the cabinet)
• Three tiers (civil & criminal justice):
– The Supreme Court (Hogsta Domstolen)
– 6 Courts of appeal
– 100 district and city courts (first instance)—Judges
assisted by panels of citizens
• Administrative justice system (also three tiers)
• Labor/Market courts
• Swedish invention: the Ombudsman
Ombudsman
• Swedish Creation (adopted by a
number of states)
• Investigate citizens’ claims on
abuses by the State
• Ombudsmen have no power of their
own; their work is to inform the
Legislature for a change in policy
• (Public embarrassment Ancient
Greece)
The Swedish Bureaucracy
• Decentralized network of
autonomous agencies operating at
the local level
• Reduced since the 1980s (due to
austerity measures)
– Now the gvt. Sets goals, and agencies
are free to choose the means to achieve
them (purpose: to make the
bureaucracy more efficient and
responsive)
Local Gvt.
• 21 counties governed by administrative
boards
– Popularly elected County councils
– Counties led by governors chosen by the
cabinet
– Counties divided into municipalities
(governed by popularly elected councils)
– Local gvt. Implements policy
– Counties can collect taxes
Consensual Multi-Party System
(PR electoral system)
5 major parties
– The Social
Democratic Party
– The Left Party
– The Liberals
– The Center Party
– The Moderates
Three small parties
(since the 1980s)
• Environmentalists
• Christian Democrats
• New Democracy
Unionization of Labor
• Sweden (more than 90%) the U.S.
(less than 15%)
• Neo-corporatism—Schmitter
– Consultation between gvt., labor, and
capital—consensus