This project investigates archaeological material collected from north-west China in the 1920s and housed at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm. Finds and archival materials are examined and catalogued to learn about prehistoric cultural interactions and to reconnect discoveries with the original excavation contexts and excavators.

Fifteen years ago, Rydgren (Scand Polit Stud 25(1):27–56, 2002) asked why no electorally successful radical right-wing party had yet emerged in Sweden. In this respect, Sweden was a negative case. Rydgren posited four main explanations: (1) social class mattered more in Sweden than elsewhere. Working-class voters identified strongly with their social class and with the Social Democratic party, making them largely unavailable to radical right-wing mobilization; (2) socioeconomic issues still structured most politics in Sweden, and issues belonging to the sociocultural dimension—most importantly immigration—were of low salience for voters; (3) voters still perceived clear policy alternatives across the left-right divide; and (4) the leading radical right-wing alternative, the Sweden Democrats, was perceived as being too extreme. Since 2010, however, Sweden can no longer be considered a negative case, and in this article, we argue that in order to understand the rise and growth of the Sweden Democrats, we should focus on changes in the factors enumerated above.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the potential link between religious participation and civic engagement in Sweden. Religious participation probably plays a different role in a secular context compared to a context where religion and politics are more intertwined. First, do those who regularly attend religious services in Sweden volunteer and participate in charitable giving more often compared with those who do not? Second, are those who regularly attend religious services more, or less, politically active between elections compared with those who do not in Sweden? Third, do those who regularly attend religious services in Sweden receive more requests to volunteer than those who do not? The study uses survey data on volunteering from random samples of individuals in Sweden. Results showed that volunteering was limited to a restricted group of organizations. There is a higher propensity among those who regularly attend religious services to volunteer within political parties. Those who frequently attend church were significantly more often requested to volunteer by someone else.

This article tries to enhance knowledge about organizational characteristics and processes that are important for mitigating oligarchic tendencies in the governance of CSOs, and to discuss the factors that condition the operation of these characteristics and processes. Civil society is frequently seen as an important part of societal governance and discussed as the intermediary link between the individual and society. This connection is often made through the aggregate function of civil society organizations (CSOs). Currently there are discussions regarding the decline of traditional cross-class federative CSOs and the possible effect of this on democracy in society. This article presents a longitudinal case study of the governance within a large, membership-based federative CSO and illustrates the revitalization of a CSO and its mission through the influx of a new group of members from the surrounding environment. The author argues that this revitalization process was possible partly because the proposed changes were in keeping with the organization’s original ideological core and partly because of the organization’s open democratic governance system. This permeability is found at two levels: first, the borders are open for individuals to enter the organization as members, and second, the borders of the internal governance system are open for members to take part in the decision-making process. This enabled ideas to percolate up from the members through the democratic decision-making system to the top of the organization, and some ideas are translated into statutes and policies, which then trickle down to the members again through the executive structure. The conclusion is that a functioning democratic governance system, which is able to stay true to the organization’s ideological core at the same time as it is able to modify it in light of societal change, seems imperative for this kind of organization. By doing this, the organization is not just staying true to its original mission but also actively contributing to democracy in society by including new groups into the decision-making process.

Corporatism may be seen as variety of capitalism in which specific structural prerequisites such as unionization, centralization, and strong states combined with bargaining and concertation produce certain economic outputs. Corporatism may also be seen as a variety of democracy in which interest groups are integrated in the preparation and/or implementation of public policies. Departing in the last position, we measure the strength of Scandinavian corporatism by the involvement of interest groups in public committees, councils, and commissions. Corporatism in relation to the preparation of policy has gone down in all three Scandinavian countries whereas corporatism in implementation processes are more varied among the three countries.

In democracies, elections in which voters elect their leaders and hold them accountable are the most important part of the democratic process. This study is about the people who work on the frontline of democracy and who play a major role in elections, namely poll workers. Surprisingly little is known about how poll workers evaluate elections, and we provide a detailed analysis of poll workers' views of how elections work in Sweden. We do this by reporting and analysing the results from a survey conducted among poll workers in Sweden shortly after the 2022 election. The results show that although many types of polling station-related problems were rare, some problems occurred to a greater extent than we expected. It is also clear that many of the problems had a negative impact on the poll workers' evaluations of the quality of the voting process.

This article compares results from a study of service quality in cooperative and municipal preschools. The parent cooperative and municipal childcare represents two different schools of thought with regard to service quality. The municipal services have a strong tradition of professionalism in which user participation is not allowed to interfere with the qualified work performed by trained professionals. The parent cooperatives have another tradition in which service quality is developed in a dialogue between users and staff while they co-produce the services together. The former tradition is the dominant one in the Swedish welfare state while the latter is an exception. The conclusion of the article is that service quality is better in the parent cooperative childcare in spite of the widespread assumption in Sweden that service quality is close to synonymous with professionalism.

This paper presents an analysis of the role of Swedish voluntary organizations within the field of child protection as well as processes of institutionalization within such organizations. The empirical focus is on the two most important voluntary organizations within the field today, namely Rädda Barnen (Save the Children) and BRIS (Children’s Right in Society). And their importance within the child protection discourse, as well as their role as producers of welfare, is discussed. In the latter respect two different processes of professionalization—professionalization of volunteers and avant-garde professionalism—are identified. It is demonstrated that the relationship between the state and voluntary organizations is a key issue when understanding the nature of the organizations and their role in the organizational landscape.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether citizens are more likely to vote in a political system that uses a proportional electoral system if the election is close. The results show that citizens who live in Swedish municipalities in which the competition between the two leading parties is close are more likely to vote. However, the results also show that the vote gap between the two major traditional blocs, the left and the right, is not important for citizens when they are considering whether or not to vote in municipal elections. In the study, a theoretical argument has been formulated which suggests that voters are confused and discouraged when there are many aspects to consider regarding the form of an upcoming coalition government. Accordingly, potential voters see the issue of how the coalition will be formed as too complex, and therefore the vote gap between the two blocs is not an issue that is prioritised by potential voters.

Policy institutes, or “think tanks”, are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in our societies. In this article, we conceptualize think tanks explicitly as a civil society phenomenon, linking the proliferation of this relatively new type of actor to the transformation of civil society structures and of systems of interest representation. Using the case of Sweden as an illustration, we argue that the recent decades’ rise of think tanks in institutional settings outside of the USA can only be understood if we take into account the particular features and institutional policy access opportunities of the domestic civil society in each national case, and that think tanks should be analytically understood as the allies of, rather than competitors to, the older, established forces in civil society.

In contribution to current debates on the changing roles and responsibilities of civil society in welfare state arrangements, I examined the participation of various types of civil society organizations in national welfare policymaking in Sweden between 1958 and 2012. Drawing upon an extensive dataset of over 1400 civil society, state, and for-profit organizations, I tested three claims related to the role and responsibility of civil society in the governance of welfare: the changing balance between corporatist and welfare organizations, the shift from voice to service, and another shift from nonprofit organizations to FPOs. My results revealed weak but emerging trends aligned with changing patterns of corporatism and the marketization of Sweden’s welfare system. However, support for any shift from voice to service remains uncertain.

This article aims to increase understanding of how the institutional model of a (neo) corporative state meets new forms in a changing civil society. This objective is accomplished by analyzing two case studies of Swedish organizations entering into the field of government-subsidized popular education: one youth organization and one Muslim organization. The institutionalist concepts isomorphism, isopraxism, isonymism, packaging and translation are used to analyze these. Empirically the article is based on qualitative analysis of interviews, observations and written documents. It is concluded that the translation of popular education as an organizational concept in these cases is characterized by coercive and mimetic isomorphism, isopraxism and isonymism to an extent that hinders development in the popular education field. There are also examples of emerging packaging changing the relationship between state and civil society. That issue, however, requires further qualitative research, as does the influence of corporatism on civil society organization in general.

Political parties maintain connections with various sub-organisations to engage different segments of society. Common among these are party youth wings. These relationships are often described as mutual, where votes are exchanged for policies. However, little research delves into how members of these sub-organisations perceive their roles in relation to the senior party. Based on a web survey of approximately 3000 respondents, this study investigates the views of youth wing members within Swedish political parties. Specifically, it explores whether members believe their youth wing’s primary role should be to influence or support the senior party. Drawing on theories of political engagement incentives, it examines the connection between members’ political and career motivations and their perceptions of these roles. Results suggest that those with career-oriented incentives tend to view the youth wing as supportive, while politically motivated members prioritise influencing the senior party. This research contributes to our understanding of the complex dynamics within political parties and their affiliated organisations, shedding light on how individual motivations shape organisational roles.

Syphilis has re-emerged as a public health threat during the 21st century, and updated knowledge of the epidemic and its drivers is needed to halt this worrying development. We present data on the incidence of syphilis in the south Swedish region Skåne from 2007 to 2022 to determine the burden of disease, changes in risk groups, as well as routes for testing. To get a picture of the burden of syphilis, both early (notifiable) syphilis and cases of non-notifiable (late) symptomatic syphilis were included in this register-based study. Mann–Kendall trend analysis (MK) was used to determine statistical significance over time. In all, 584 cases of syphilis were included in the study. The overall syphilis incidence in Skåne increased from 3.1 cases/100000 population in 2007 to 6.3 in 2022 (MK z-stat: 2.57; p = 0.010). The highest increase in absolute numbers was among men who have sex with men (MSM), from eight cases annually in 2007 to 62 in 2022, but also for heterosexually transmitted men and women, with under ten cases yearly from 2007 through 2019 to 22 cases in 2022. We also found that transmission within Sweden was common, indicating that local measures are needed to curb this epidemic.

We argue that the far-right is turning to law and legal institutions to institutionalize its extreme agendas but does so in the name of democratic values. Right-wing attempts to affirm and repress rights speak to the duality of democracy, often hinging on the perceived worthiness of rights along cultural and ethnic boundaries while still espousing equality for all. To understand and explain this phenomenon, we bring together socio-legal literature and far-right scholarship and focus on the understudied but significant Swedish case, often viewed as exceptional. We analyze critical events within the Swedish polity, such as the free speech crisis over the Quran burnings and recent reforms of the Tidö Agreement, the governing document of the right-wing coalition government, which is deeply influenced by the far-right Sweden Democrats. Empirical evidence shows how right-wing movements go beyond conventional right-against-rights expectations of authoritarian or strongman tactics to instead advocate for liberal values.

Intersectionality is increasingly being operationalized as part of gender mainstreaming efforts across national and multilateral contexts. One prominent example can be located in Sweden’s 2015 institutional commitment to centering future gender equality policy in an intersectional analysis. This article explores the complexities of institutionalizing intersectionality in Swedish gender equality policy processes, drawing on the situated insights of public sector gender experts and Afro-Swedish feminist activists and politicians. Key findings include the prevalence of additive interpretations of intersectionality that privilege gender, limitations in statistical practices, and uneven commitments to intersectional policymaking across different institutional contexts. Recommendations for enhancing intersectional policymaking include the incorporation of ‘Equity Data’ and qualitative insights through structured dialogues with intersectionally marginalized communities. Ultimately, this article emphasizes the necessity of centering the voices of both institutional insiders and intersectionally marginalized stakeholders to address the shortcomings of intersectional practice to enhance its transformative potential in Sweden.

This article develops Border Work (BW) as a theoretical concept and methodological approach, underexplored in socio-legal scholar-activism, through analysing two distinct examples: Noor, who applied for protection, and her individual and collective struggle for residency and the making of a manifesto against borders. While both examples depart from feminist methodology, the differences are stark: Noor, excluded from democratic processes, faced deportation risks, while we, with institutional support, engaged in public mobilisations without such threats. Despite these differences, we use BW to understand and analyse both examples, highlighting their commonalities. The analysis of the manifesto work and Noor’s efforts shows how transgressive work creates new subject positions. BW provides a deeper understanding and a common analytical framework for scholarly work interlinked with activism. Through BW, Noor transformed from being seen as an object of the law to becoming a creator of legal knowledge. In the manifesto exercise, the boundaries are both collective and political: participants jointly challenge the national order and advocate for a transnational political identity. Both Noor and we, as part of the collective, engaged in the making of the manifesto and engaged at the intersection of personal experiences and powerful institutions and ideologies, with the aim of contributing to the struggles within and against restrictive migration regimes. Socio-legal scholars are experienced when thinking critically about the role and rule of law in society; BW can be understood to put this knowledge into action and apply it in broader struggles for justice.

In Viking archaeology, the study of miniature figurines cast in silver and bronze provides a platform for debates on ritual and mythology, yet much of this discourse focuses on their appearance. Here, the authors use microwear and Reflective Transformation Imaging to survey the physical evidence of complex relational dynamics between 10 anthropomorphic artefacts from Viking Age Sweden and the human bodies they connected with. Through such analyses, and the abandonment of a priori assumptions regarding their purpose and symbolism, these figures can be seen as more than just components of an imposed category, and their varied, transmutable engagements with the world can be explored more freely.