Swedish Green Research Articles

Equality data as immoral race politics: A case study of liberal, colour-blind, and antiracialist opposition to equality data in Sweden.

This study concerns discursive mobilisations of race and racism in theSwedish debate on equality data, in the case of a controversial statement made by a Swedish Green Party MP. In March 2019, female Muslim MP Leila Ali Elmi argued publicly for introducing equality data in Sweden, in opposition to prevailing colour-blind and antiracialist norms. Her statement was controversially formulated in terms of 'registering' people 'by race', leading to forceful criticism in the mainstream press and on social media, particularly on Twitter. In a material representing this criticism, we analyse discourse participants' argumentative strategies, focusing on mobilisations of race and racism as acts of subject positioning, performative of a moral identity. Participants positioned themselves as morally righteous, liberal antiracists by virtue of their own antiracialism (Goldberg, 2009, The threat of race. Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken, NJ) and colour-blindness (Bonilla-Silva, 2010, Racism without racists. Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, MA), while constructing equality data as a racist practice, and as a threat to a liberal order. They also constructed advocates of equality data, and specifically Ali Elmi herself, as being irrational race ideologues, to be morally condemned for espousing a return to racial thinking comparable to that of German Nazism or scientific racism. The findings point to the exceptional status and character of what we call a colour-blind antiracialism in Sweden, and further show how far 'liberal arguments for illiberal ends' can go in reinforcing a moral status quo and counteracting antiracist reform.

On the Inevitable Bounding of Pluralism in ESE—An Empirical Study of the Swedish Green Flag Initiative

This paper explores potential tensions in transformative learning and environmental and sustainability education (ESE) between, on the one hand, pluralistic approaches, and, on the other hand, promotion of societal change to address urgent issues. We stipulate that design of ESE inevitably contributes to a bounding of the plurality of facts and values that are acknowledged in a given learning process. Based on a frame analysis of the Swedish Green Flag initiative, we argue that such bounding by design is a key aspect of how ESE practitioners handle tensions between pluralism and urgency, either consciously or unconsciously. Given its inevitability and importance, we assert that bounding by design is insufficiently theorized in ESE literature, which might partly explain that practitioners perceive pluralistic ideals as challenging. In the empirics, we discern three justifications for bounding by design: (i) certain facts or degree of scientific consensus; (ii) objectives decided by elected bodies; and (iii) decisions taken by student and teacher representatives. We point to the theory of libertarian paternalism and a typology of democratic legitimacy as conceptual tools that can guide further scrutiny of pluralistic ESE and support practitioners in undertaking conscious and transparent bounding by design.

スウェーデン環境党の議会政治戦略と「ブロック政治」の新展開

スウェーデン環境党の議会政治戦略と「ブロック政治」の新展開

Correlation of track irregularities and vehicle responses based on measured data

ABSTRACTTrack geometry quality and dynamic vehicle response are closely related, but do not always correspond with each other in terms of maximum values and standard deviations. This can often be seen to give poor results in analyses with correlation coefficients or regression analysis. Measured data from both the EU project DynoTRAIN and the Swedish Green Train (Gröna Tåget) research programme is used in this paper to evaluate track–vehicle response for three vehicles. A single degree of freedom model is used as an inspiration to divide track–vehicle interaction into three parts, which are analysed in terms of correlation. One part, the vertical axle box acceleration divided by vehicle speed squared () and the second spatial derivative of the vertical track irregularities (), is shown to be the weak link with lower correlation coefficients than the other parts. Future efforts should therefore be directed towards investigating the relation between axle box accelerations and track irregularity second derivatives.

The Swedish Greens: a big step forward – and several steps back

The parliamentary election of 14 September 2014 induced decidedly mixed feelings in the Swedish Green Party (Miljöpartiet de gröna). It led to the ejection of the centre-right government and the installation, for the first time, of Green cabinet ministers. However, the party also experienced a small but unexpected loss of votes compared to its score in the previous election. Moreover, partly because a far-right party built impressively on its breakthrough into the national parliament in 2010, the new government rests on a precariously narrow parliamentary base.

Do leopards ever change their spots? The development of political trust among Swedish Green Party sympathisers

Although starting out as a protest movement in the early 1980s, the Swedish Greens moved to become a contractual supporter of Social Democratic governments from 1998 to 2006, and then became an active partner of the Red–Green Coalition seeking parliamentary power in the 2010 general elections. Against the background of lingering strife between ‘fundis’ and ‘realos’ in Green parties, national survey data is used to analyse how this shift from anti- to pro-system party has affected political trust among Swedish Green sympathisers. Although the general level of political trust among Green sympathisers goes up during the period of ever closer cooperation with the Social Democrats, the effect of being a Green Party sympathiser remains negatively associated with political trust regardless of proximity to power. Possible explanations of this pattern, which seems exclusively attached to former anti-parties, are discussed.

The Swedish Green Party: from alternative movement to third biggest party

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1. In late 2008, the Social Democrats hovered around 43% support in opinion polls. In April 2009, the party was down to 33% (Asp 2011, p. 68).After the 2009 European Parliament election, the rise of the Green Party alone explained the lead of the Red--Greens in the opinion polls. 2. ValU is an election exit-poll survey routinely conducted to get comparable data across elections. The 2010 survey was based on almost 12,000 voters. 3. Prior to the election, both the Red–Greens and the government coalition unequivocally stated that they would not include, nor seek implicit support from, the Sweden Democrats when forming a government.

A Taste of Honey Is Worse Than None at All?

Some parties support rather than join the executive, thereby operating in a grey area between opposition and office – in governance but not in government. Previous research on the New Zealand Greens’ experience as a support party has shown that this liminal position may prove a blessing or a curse – or, more likely, a mixture of both. This article compares the experience of the Swedish Greens. While the Swedish party gained more on policy, it suffered the same frustrations as its Kiwi counterpart with regard to consultation, to the media and to a government that could potentially find support elsewhere. It, too, avoided overwhelming internal tensions, but was likewise left wanting more. Neither party broke into government at the next election, but tried to put lessons learned into practice when supporting centre–left cabinets once again. That the challenges encountered were so similar suggests the possibility that they are common to support parties elsewhere.

‘Small Steps’ or ‘Great Leaps’: How the Swedish Greens Are Learning the Lessons of Government Participation

As Green parties have solidified their positions within the Western European party systems, they have increasingly faced opportunities and pressures to participate in government at varying levels. This has raised significant questions regarding both how the Greens should progress strategically in relation to other longstanding political parties and also whether participation in government represents a process of ‘institutionalisation’ and a loss of the Greens’‘new politics’ credentials. This paper examines the strategic changes and developments within the Swedish Green Party (Miljöpartiet de Gröna) as it has come to terms with opportunities to participate in government. It argues that the decisions within the party have reflected not only internal ideological debates, but also external pressures and opportunities. It also demonstrates that the experiences of the party at local and municipal levels have played a major role in encouraging the national party to consider negotiating with other parties. The paper attempts to draw lessons from the experiences of the Swedish Greens which may prove useful in trying to comprehend the future challenges and pressures facing the continued development of Europe’s Green parties.

Green politics one: 1990

is an annual publication aiming to provide a forum for academic discussion on all aspects of international green social movements and political parties. is interdisciplinary with material from sociologists, political scientists, Business Studies and Modern Languages departments, as well as geographers, planners and environmental specialists. In Politics I Gene Frankland analyzes the success of the British Greens in the 1989 European elections and assesses its implications for the emerging North American green movements. Thomas Poguntke looks at the German Greens and the problems in maintaining electoral success over a long period of time. Herbert Kitschelt compares the internal structures of two small Belgian parties, while Anthony Affigne traces the influence of Chernobyl on the growth of the Swedish Green Party. There are papers on the Irish, Italian and French movements and a review of green books published in the 1980s.

Distribution, Morphology and Taxonomy of the Swedish Green Frogs (Rana esculenta Complex)

Distribution, Morphology and Taxonomy of the Swedish Green Frogs (Rana esculenta Complex)