Sweden’s Laboratory of Democracy
Sweden Has Become One of the World’s Strongest Democracies
Welcome to another essay from Civic Way’s series on global democracies. The author, Bruce Anderson, is an advisor to Civic Way. Bruce has an MBA and over 45 years of management experience with private entities like Price Waterhouse and public sector entities like the Cleveland Public Schools. He has managed projects for numerous other agencies, including colleges, schools, cities and counties. Bruce also served in the Peace Corps.
Civic Way’s Comparative Democracy Series
The world’s democracies come in many forms but face similar challenges.
Some have strong central governments, some federated structures. Some an independent chief executive and some a parliamentary form. Some coexist with a ceremonial monarchy. Some structural variations are embodied in a nation’s constitution and laws. Others spring from historical, cultural or demographic roots.
To meet the inherent challenges of democracies, many nations refine their constitutions, laws and cultural norms. Learning about these changes, and the risks they were intended to address, can yield promising ideas for preserving and improving our own democracy.
An Introduction to Sweden
Sweden (the Kingdom of Sweden), along with its neighbors Denmark, Finland and Norway, is part of Scandavia. With a land mass of 173,000 square miles, it is the largest Scandinavian and the fifth largest European nation.
About 87 percent of Sweden’s 10.5 million residents live in urban areas. However, due to its rugged landscape, its population density is relatively low. Sweden had little immigration for most of its history, but nearly 20 percent of its population today are immigrants. With an estimated nominal GDP of $604 billion, Sweden has the 25th largest economy in the world (the 12th largest on a per capita basis).
Sweden has been mostly independent since the 12th Century. Its Viking legacy—and Beowulf—notwithstanding, Sweden has largely shunned wars. During World War I and World War II, it remained neutral. In recent decades, however, Sweden has become more involved in foreign affairs. In 1995, it joined the European Union and, in 2022, it applied for full NATO membership.
Sweden’s Government Structure
Sweden is a representative parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy. Its government is divided into three branches:
Executive branch – The Prime Minister is nominated by the Speaker for parliamentary approval. There are 20 professionally staffed ministries. The monarch performs a purely ceremonial role.
Legislative branch – The unicameral Riksdag has 349 members, 310 elected from 29 multi-seat electoral districts and 39 elected via a proportional representative system. All serve four-year terms. The Riksdag enacts legislation, elects a Speaker and selects the Prime Minister.
Judicial branch – Sweden has a three-tiered system—the Supreme Court, Appellate Courts and District Courts. The Labor Court, which arbitrates collective bargaining disputes, has seven members, including two labor and two management representatives.
The 1975 Constitution[i] defines the nation’s governing principles and civil liberties, and spells out the monarch’s ceremonial role.
Since 1809, the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO), an independent agency, has reviewed the compliance of public entities—including the courts—with laws and regulations. The Prime Minister appoints the Ombudsmen, subject to Riksdag confirmation. The Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman performs administrative duties and assigns responsibilities to each ombudsman. However, the Chief cannot intervene in another ombudsman’s inquiry or decision.
Sweden has 21 regions (analogous to US counties). The Riksdag appoints regional governors for six-year terms, and voters elect regional councils. Within the regions, there are 290 municipalities, most with large councils (31 to 101 members). Regional and municipal councils are elected through proportional representation. Within the municipalities, there are 2,512 parishes[ii].
Sweden’s Democracy
In 2020, the Economist Intelligence Unit classified Sweden as a “Full Democracy.” Sweden received a 9.26 score on the In the Democracy Index’s 10-point scale, placing it 4th among 167 nations.
In 2020, the Freedom House also rated Sweden one of the world’s strongest democracies. It cited its “free and fair” elections, strong multiparty system and safeguards for civil liberties and the rule of law. It noted the nation’s low corruption, robust anticorruption controls and vibrant free press. However, it expressed concerns about Sweden’s recent rise in violence and hate crimes.
Other noteworthy characteristics of Sweden’s democracy include the following:
Voting – All citizens aged 18 and older have the right to vote in federal and regional elections. In addition, non-citizens may vote in local elections if they meet certain residency requirements.
Elections – Federal, regional and local elections are held every four years on the same day. Early voting is allowed at polling places throughout the country regardless of address.
Campaign financing – The federal government subsidizes authorized political parties[iii], but parties can raise additional funds subject to strict regulatory requirements.
Executive branch – The Prime Minister is nominated by the Speaker and selected by the Riksdag.
Legislative branch – There are 29 electoral constituencies (Stockholm and two other large regions have multiple electoral constituencies).
Legislative representation – Parties receiving over four percent of nationwide votes or at least 12 percent of district votes are allocated seats even if they didn’t directly win a seat.
Judicial branch – The judiciary is independent. Due to the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s broad role, the Supreme Court’s involvement in cases involving parliamentary influence is limited.
Term limits – There are no term or age limits for the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
Removal process – The Riksdag may call for an extraordinary election or force the resignation of the Prime Minister and ministers by majority vote on a “no confidence” declaration[iv]. The “no confidence” mechanism has been used not only to challenge executive conduct, but to persuade the Riksdag to take some action (e.g., approve or reject a measure).
Sweden is pluralistic. Eight political parties are represented in the Riksdag[v]. The three parties with the most seats are the Social Democratic Party (30 percent), Sweden Democrats (21 percent) and Moderate Party (19 percent). The other represented parties are the left-leaning Left and Green parties, and the right-leaning Centre Party, Christian Democrats and Liberals. In addition, there are over 20 minor parties. Parties are very competitive and can form coalitions to improve their prospects.
The National Election Authority (NEA), an independent authority formally under the Ministry of Justice, plans and manages federal elections and national referenda, enforces electoral laws and regulations, allocates parliamentary seats, keeps voters informed and reports election results. While county councils and municipalities are responsible for administering regional and local elections, Sweden’s same-day election tradition gives the NEA a collaborative role in those elections as well.
The Office of Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO) monitors the federal government, including the judicial system, and regional and municipal governments. It reports public dereliction of duty, issues advisory opinions, recommends statutory changes, mediates inter-governmental disputes and initiates legal proceedings for certain criminal offences[vi]. While its decisions are not binding, the JO’s work is frequently advanced by Sweden’s media.
Sweden’s Recent Political Landscape
Sweden was once the gold standard for liberal governance. In the decades after World War II, Sweden’s Social Democrats built “Folkhem,” a democratic, middle-class welfare-state. Consistent with this legacy, the Swedish prime minister told Swedes in 2014 to “open their hearts” to immigration.
And Sweden did exactly that, accepting more immigrants per capita than any other European country. Since then, Sweden has become one of Europe’s most ethnically diverse nations. Its population rose from nine million in 2000 to over 10 million by 2020. Public services and systems were overwhelmed, and crime rose. The Sweden Democrats (SD), with a virulent anti-immigrant brand—and intermittent racist rhetoric—capitalized, steadily increasing their political support in successive elections.
In the 2018 parliamentary elections, the SD, won 62 seats, up from 49. However, its coalition fell one vote short of winning a majority, and some centrist parties refused to join SD’s coalition government. In January 2019, after over four months without a government, the leader of the Social Democrats (SAP) formed a coalition with three other parties. Sweden’s current Prime Minister was appointed.
This year, the Social Democrats won more seats than any other party (30 percent), but the coalition it led failed to win a majority of Riksdag seats[vii]. Instead, the rightwing coalition led by the far-right SD won a narrow three-vote majority in the Riksdag. The SD’s strong showing made it Sweden’s second largest party (the largest on the right) and put it in a strong position to shape the next administration.
SD and its alliance partners—the Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals—must still negotiate a governance agreement. Center-right moderates will likely be the victorious coalition’s public face. The leader of the Moderate Party, which won the third most votes (19 percent), will likely become the new prime minister. Far-right SD politicians are unlikely to become ministers. And, while the future government will likely be fragile, stronger immigration controls seem imminent.
Possible Lessons for the US
Sweden’s political system does have several features worth exploring, including the following:
Parties – Legal and fiscal support for minority parties help make them more competitive.
Voting – Sweden enjoys high voter turnout—rarely below 80 percent and over 84 percent in 2022. Allowing long-term residents to vote on local council races may promote inclusion for immigrants.
Elections – The National Election Authority helps boost public faith in elections. Holding all national and local elections (except EU races) on the same day is efficient and may increase voter turnout. However, the paper ballot system, despite some changes, still raises privacy and security concerns.
Campaign Financing – Federal funding of up to 90 percent of party costs promotes political pluralism and helps keep a lid on private political campaign costs.
Legislative branch – Allocating seats to electoral constituencies based on population improves representativeness and multi-seat districts may enhance ideological and gender diversity (the Riksdag has a virtual 50/50 male-female balance).
Legislative representativeness – The proportional allocation mechanism encourages multi-party participation (eight parties with representation) and the formation of governing coalitions.
Judicial branch – The Labor Court’s appointment process illustrates the judicial system’s commitment to fairness.
Removal process – The Riksdag’s “no confidence” mechanism encourages accountability for the Prime Minister and ministers (they are, however, of the same party or party coalition).
The Office of Parliamentary Ombudsman, by virtue of its powers to monitor federal and local governments, and its relative independence, is an important accountability tool. Its influence is reinforced by intense coverage by Sweden’s robust independent media[viii].
We cannot perfect our union without perfecting our democracy. To do so, we must not only learn from our own successes and setbacks, but the feats and failures of other nations.
That is true. Do you think that fact has strengthened Sweden's democracy? If so, how?
We must keep in mind that our country spends nearly a trillion dollars on its defense. Our defense is dependent upon private defense contractors. They maintain tight control over our military and congress. Sweden is not so burdened.