| 1. |
- Andersson, Staffan, 1969-, et al.
(författare)
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An Exceptional Case : Sweden and the Pandemic
- 2023
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Ingår i: The Political Economy of Global Responses to COVID-19. - Cham : Palgrave Macmillan. - 9783031239137 - 9783031239168 - 9783031239144 ; , s. 75-101
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This chapter has two aims. First, we describe the Swedish authorities’ management of the pandemic in 2020. Their approach deviated markedly from policies pursued in neighbouring countries, with respect to the authorities’ understanding of the virus; the measures adopted to counter the spread of the virus; the reliance on recommendations to citizens rather than legally binding instructions; and, most notably, the extensive delegation of policy-making by the government to a technocratic authority, the Public Health Agency. Second, we try to explain this policy deviation. We show that Swedish constitutional arrangements, with relatively autonomous, policy-delivering agencies, are a necessary but insufficient condition for explaining the outcome. Three additional conditions are needed: assertive leadership within the Public Health Agency; a weak and passive government; and citizens’ trust in public institutions, reflected in rallying around the flag and in supportive media coverage, all which cemented initial policy choices.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Staffan, 1969-, et al.
(författare)
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Democracy and technocracy in Sweden's Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Political Science. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2673-3145. ; 4, s. 1-13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sweden’s management of the coronavirus pandemic, beginning in early 2020, hasbeen much discussed because it deviated from other countries’ equivalents. Set inthe context of scholarly debate about the balance between politicians and experts inpolitical decision-making, we argue that a necessary condition for this case of Swedishexceptionalism was the manner of policy-making adopted by the Swedish authorities. Inthis article, we describe this policy-making procedure, which involved a radical form ofdelegation by elected politicians to appointed experts, and seek to explain how it cameabout. We focus on the 1st year of the pandemic, and use media reports and other publicdocuments, including parts of a public inquiry, as our empirical material.
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Staffan, 1969-, et al.
(författare)
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Sweden and Coronavirus : Unexceptional Exceptionalism
- 2020
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Ingår i: Social Sciences. - Basel : MDPI. - 2076-0760. ; 9:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aims of this article are, first, to describe the Swedish authorities' strategy for dealing with the sudden onset of novel coronavirus in early 2020 and, second, to explain why that strategy differed markedly from those in nearly all other European countries. From an early stage, the Swedish government delegated decision making to the Public Health Agency, and its goal was to mitigate the effects of the virus rather than to suppress its spread. Society was never closed down in the same way as elsewhere. Using data from media reports and other publications, we argue that the agency was insulated from pressure to change course, even as the number of deaths associated with covid-19 rose far above those in Sweden's Nordic neighbours, by four conditions: (1) the structure of national public administration; (2) an outburst of nationalism in parts of the media; (3) the uneven impact of the virus; and (4) a political leadership that was willing to delegate responsibility for policy almost entirely. We conclude by briefly comparing the coronavirus strategy to previous episodes of Swedish policy exceptionalism. This emerging pattern, we suggest, raises normative questions about the functioning of Swedish democracy.
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| 4. |
- Aylott, Nicholas, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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A new right : the Swedish parliamentary election of September 2022
- 2023
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Ingår i: West European Politics. - : Routledge. - 0140-2382 .- 1743-9655. ; 46:5, s. 1049-1062
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Swedish parliamentary election of 11 September 2022 led to the removal of a Social Democratic government and the installation of a right-of-centre coalition. The change was made possible by the mainstream right's abandonment of the previous cordon sanitaire around the radical-right Sweden Democrats (SD). The new government, consisting of the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, concluded a comprehensive agreement with SD. In this article, we sketch the background to the election; describe how the campaign unfolded; and interpret the results and outcome.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Aylott, Nicholas, 1970-
(författare)
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Brexit - skilsmässan som splittrat Storbritannien
- 2020
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Ingår i: Världspolitikens Dagsfrågor. - Stockholm : Utrikespolitiska institutet. - 0042-2754. ; :6, s. 1-32
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Tidskriftsartikel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Beslutet att lämna EU har inte bara förändrat Storbritanniens plats i världen utan också skakat om den brittiska inrikespolitiken och förstärkt polariseringen mellan brexitanhängare och EU-vänner. På sikt kan brexit hota sammanhållningen i landet.
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| 7. |
- Aylott, Nicholas, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Conflicts and Coronations : Analysing Leader Selection in European Political Parties
- 2020
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Ingår i: Managing Leader Selection in European Political Parties. - London : Palgrave Macmillan. - 9783030550004 - 9783030549992 ; , s. 1-28
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Political parties shape politics, and the most important person in a party is usually the leader. Party leaders make the political weather. Take a recent example from Britain. In 2015 the Labour Party, somewhat unexpectedly, lost a national election. Its leader resigned and a new one was needed. “Jeremy Corbyn is not going to win the Labour leadership election”, insisted one of the country’s shrewdest political commentators (Rentoul 2015). But Corbyn did win, and by a comfortable margin. Labour thus took a big stride to the left.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Aylott, Nicholas, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Locating power in party leader selection
- 2023
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Political Studies. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0080-6757 .- 1467-9477. ; 46:1-2, s. 1-22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article, the aim is to enhance our understanding of who has power over leader selection in political parties. To this end, we apply an analytical framework in which the selection process is divided into three phases: gatekeeping, preparation and decision. The focus is on determining the extent to which each of these phases is influential for the outcome and thereby locating the distribution of intra-party power. Underpinning the analysis is the conviction that the comparison of leader selection is too limited if it relies solely on information about formal procedures, including the composition of the selectorate. We should also take the preselection phase of leader selection into account. Empirically, we examine a sample of recent selection processes in European parliamentary democracies. In contrast to previous research on intra-party politics, which has suggested an ascendancy of the party in public office, our results suggest an enduring strength of the party on the ground and the party in the central office.
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