The immigration issue and anti-immigrant party success in Sweden 1970–2006. A deviant case analysis

Abstract

[The immigration issue and anti-immigrant party success in Sweden 1970–2006. A deviant case analysis] Electoral success of anti-immigrant parties varies considerably across Western Europe. In this article, Carl Dahlström and Peter Esaiasson analyses which current theories that accounts for the failure of anti-immigrant parties in a number of Swedish elections. The authors draw on an unusually rich set of data to trace important processes from the 1970s up to 2006. (In the conclusion they also comment on the general election of 2010.) Their analysis shows that the failure of anti-immigrant parties is not explained by low citizen demand for anti-immigrant policies. The article does however find clear support for party strategy theories. More specifically, it is found that a dismissive issue strategy has been effective in reducing support for anti-immigrant parties. There is also support for the expectation that established parties to the right are more inclined to pursue anti-immigrant policies than parties to the left. Publication history: A translation of ”The Immigration Issue and Anti-Immigrant Party Success in Sweden 1970–2006. A Deviant Case Analysis” from the journal Party Politics , volume 19, number 2 2013 ( http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1354068811407600 ). (Published 16 September 2013) Citation: Dahlström, Carl & Peter Esaiasson (2013) ”Invandringsfrågan och möjligheter för invandringsfientliga partier att lyckas i Sverige”, in Det vita fältet II. Samtida forskning om högerextremism , special issue of Arkiv. Tidskrift för samhällsanalys , issue 2, pp. 15–43. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13068/2000-6217.2.1