The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the phenomenon of populism in Sweden among the Sweden Democrats and the Left Party, as well as their youth unions young Swedes and young left. The study applies the tool VDP analysis in which it is used as an instrument on the parties and their youth unions to identify ideas that mainly constitute their policy. To define populism, one uses Cas Mudde's definition as well as the four subtypes of populism: Complete populism, Exclucionary populism, Anti-elitist populism and Empty populism. The criteria for the different subtypes are tested with the help of the information from the VDP analyzes in order to apply a subtype and to identify differences between moderators and youth associations. The study shows that the Sweden Democrats' survey criteria for complete populism are similar to their youth union. The Left Party and the Young Left result is in criteria for anti-elitist populism. The study also shows that parties and youth unions do not differ in populist subtypes, but youth unions tend to stand out more in their policies compared to their parent parties. / Studies syfte är att undersöka fenomenet populism i Sverige hos Sverigedemokraterna och Vänsterpartiet, samt deras ungdomsförbund Ungsvenskarna och Ung Vänster. Studien tillämpar verktyget VDP-analys som används som ett instrument på partierna och deras ungdomsförbund för att identifiera de idéer som huvudsakligen utgör deras politik. För att definiera populism använder sig studien av Cas Muddes definition samt de fyra subtyperna tunn-centrerad populism, anti-elitistisk populism, exkluderande populism och fullständig populism. Kriterierna för de olika subtyperna prövas med hjälp av informationen från VDP-analyserna för att dels applicera en subtyp, dels för att identifiera skillnader mellan moderparti och ungdomsförbund. Studien visar att Sverigedemokraterna uppfyller kriterierna för fullständig populism likt deras ungdomsförbund. Vänsterpartiet och Ung Vänster uppfyller kriterierna för anti-elitistisk populism. Studien visar också att partierna och ungdomsförbunden inte skiljer sig i populistisk subtyp men ungdomsförbunden tenderar att sticka ut mer i sin politik jämfört med deras moderpartier.

Following thesis investigates the intertwined relationship between the rise of gang-violenceand right-wing populist parties, more specifically the True Finns and the Sweden Democrats. The purpose of this essay being, how the True Finns and the Sweden Democrats usegang-violence to legitimize xenophobia. Analysis are done by using a CDA-approach, the threedimensional model by Norman Fairclough. Materials used in this discourse analysis are material from the parliament, material from the parties websites and public media prior to the general elections in 2022 and 2023. The theoretical tools for analyses in this thesis rely oncombined theories from previous studies in Trygghet as issue ownership and discourses used by the Swedish Democrats and True Finns to legitimize their ideological standpoints. Through combining the theoretical framework and Fairclough’s threedimensional analysis,the empirical findings were analyzed to find which discourses are used when referring to gang violence to legitimize xenophobia. Main results of the analysis found that the parties use similar discourses when talking about gang violence, related to safety, a promised fullness to come and a feared doomsday to legitimize xenophobia. However there were also some culturally bound differences in how the parties legitimized xenophobia when discussing gangviolence. The main conclusion of the study was that some of the findings matched the theoretical framework, while some did not.

In recent studies of Scandinavian Populist Radical Right (PRR) parties, a convergence of their socioeconomic and sociocultural politics have been emphasized. This evidence points towards them having tempered their more radical agenda as they have moved towards the mainstream. But the description of the Sweden Democrats, the Progress Party and the Danish People’s Party as a homogenous entity doesn’t fit their own perception. Across different channels, like printed media and debates, the Scandinavian parties have made clear statements about how they should not be equated with one another. Through comparative method this study wants to shed light on the Scandinavian PRR-parties dividing and uniting ideological features to discuss if they should be described as homogenous - or can we find divergence? Drawing on Cas Muddes theory of populism as a thin ideology, together with Benedict Anderson's theory of nationalism as an ‘imagined community’, this study demonstrates how we can cover the full range of ideas that PRR-parties represent, and thereby present a more nuanced description of them.

In Sweden, the web-TV channel Riks which is a media initiative on YouTube by nationalist political party Sweden Democrats, has gained popularity contributing to the normalization of nationalist discourses. The aim of this study is to analyze how the discursive and visual construction and representation of women on Riks are created in nationalist discourse. Investigating this issue provides insight into the values that are being promoted and their potential consequences. The study was conducted through an intersectional theory and Stuart Hall’s representation theory with a multimodal critical discourse analysis methodology. The study found that women who are assigned the category as ’immigrants’ and ’Muslim’ were portrayed as deviant, having their voices erased and overlooked while simultaneously being portrayed as victims. ’White’ women were also portrayed as victims of the ’mass immigration’, but they were distinctively assigned agency, with the role of doing something about the situation, while ’immigrant women’ were told to ’repatriate’, reflecting their role as not acceptable within the nation.

In this thesis I have conducted an interpretivist narrative study on the correlation between strategic narratives and political myths. The strategics narratives were found by analyzing articles written by Sputnik, and the political myths are identified in previous research. This was done against the theoretical background that when strategic narratives and political myths share similarities the narratives and the myths are more powerful than when told on their own. This study found that the Russian strategic narratives and the political myths in Swedish Democrats share multiple similarities. The two actors tell the story of anti-immigration, how the liberal left is failing the people, and how Sweden have gone from a once wonderful country to a state in decline. Additionally, the two actors portray Sweden Democrats as the saviors that can save the common man from its enemies, i.e., the liberal left and the migrants. This relationship between the narratives and the myths indicates that they have a lot in common and thus the myths should be more powerful and be able to target and convince a larger audience according to the theoretical assumption of this thesis.

This study aims to examine the health and care policies of the Moderates, the Christian Democrats, the Liberals and the Sweden Democrats, then compare each policy with the Tidö-agreement and analyze the parties' potential motives for cooperation. To help achieve the purpose of the study, following questions have been formulated: How did the care and care policies of the Moderates, Christian Democrats, Liberals and Sweden Democrats look before the elections in 2018 and 2022 respectively?, in what way, and to what extent, are care and care presented in the Tidö-agreement? and what political motives can explain the Moderates', Christian Democrats', Liberals' and Sweden Democrats' reasons for entering into cooperation with each other? The method is a motive analysis and to find out the possible motives of the parties, and the theory is Wolfgang C. Müller's and Kaare Strøm's theory regarding motives for the parties' actions where the parties are either most policy-seeking or office-seeking. The hypotheses are that the Moderates', Christian Democrats' and Liberals' mostly are office-seeking parties, while the Sweden Democrats' mostly is policy-seeking. However, the study results in only the hypothesis about the Liberals being strengthened, while the remaining hypotheses fall.

Sverigedemokraterna är ett radikalt högerpopulistiskt parti som fortsätter att öka sedan valet år 2010. Vid en opinionsundersökning i april 2012 skulle partiet få 8 procent av medborgarnas röster. Syftet med vår uppsats är att förstå och förklara vilka orsaker som ligger till grund för att allt fler medborgare röstar på Sverigedemokraterna. För att kunna besvara syftet med uppsatsen har vi valt att göra en kvalitativ studie genom att med semistrukturerade intervjuer undersöka upplevelser och attityder till dagens samhällsförändringar bland Sverigedemokraternas väljare och relatera deras upplevelser till tidigare forskning inom ämnet. För att besvara vårt syfte blir frågeställningarna följande: På vilket sätt kan SD som parti locka allt fler väljare i dagens globaliserade Sverige? Vilka faktorer kan ligga till grund för att vissa medborgare röstar på SD? Samt vad tror de att SD kan bidra med och förändra i det svenska samhället och mer specifikt för deras egen situation? Vårt teoretiska ramverk är globalisering, representationen ”Vi och Dom”, nation/nationalism och välfärdschauvinism. Med dessa teorier kommer vi ur ett sociologiskt perspektiv förklara vilka samhällsprocesser som interagerar med väljarnas vardagssituation och därmed ligger till grund för deras politiska beslut. Det slutgiltiga resultatet visar att radikal högerpopulistisk retorik är genomgående i samtliga intervjuer. Invandring och välfärdsfrågor var det viktigaste faktorerna till varför intervjupersonerna röstade på Sverigedemokraterna. / The Sweden Democrats is a radical right wing party who continue to increase since the elections in 2010. At a poll in April 2012, the party would get 8 percent of the votes. The purpose of our paper is to understand and explain the reasons underlying that more and more citizens vote for the Sweden Democrats. To be able to respond to the purpose of the paper, we have chosen to make a qualitative study by using semi-structured interviews examine the experiences and attitudes of today's social changes among the Sweden Democrats ' voters and relate their experiences to the previous research on the subject. To answer our purpose becomes the following questions: In what way can the SD as an increasing number of voters in the party attract today's globalized Sweden? What factors can serve as the basis for that some citizens vote on SD? What do they think that SD can contribute and change in Swedish society and more specifically for their own situation? Our theoretical framework is globalization, representation "We and Them" nation/nationalism and welfare-chauvinism. With these theories we come from a sociological perspective to explain what social processes that interact with voters ' living situation and thus is the basis for their policy decisions. The final result shows that radical right wing rhetoric is consistently in all interviews. Immigration and welfare issues were the main factors why the respondents voted for the Sweden Democrats.

Sverigedemokraterna är det enda partiet i Sverige som ökat antalet röster på alla nivåer sedan bildandet. Syftet med denna uppsats är att försöka identifiera vilka orsaker som kan förklara Sverigedemokraternas framgångar. För att göra detta har historie-institutionalismen, nedfrysningsteorin och diffusionsteorin använts. Vidare analyseras framgångarna även genom de olika – såväl endogena som exogena – faktorer sociologiprofessor Jens Rydgren tar upp. Resultatet visar att Sverigedemokraterna ända sedan bildandet 1988 haft en tydligt planerad strategi som hela tiden anpassats utifrån partiets storlek. / Since the inceptions of the democratic election system in Sweden the Sweden Democrats is the only party which has shown a continuously increasing numbers of voters. The aim of this essay is to try to identify the causes of the success of the Sweden Democrats.  In doing so, the thesis will apply historical-institutionalism, refrigeration theory and diffusion theory to this historical event. It will also analyze both endogenous and exogenous factors outlined by Professor Jens Rydgren with reference to the party's precedent history. The result shows that the Sweden Democrats since its foundation in 1988 has had a clear and planned strategy which has been constantly adjusted to the size of the party. / <p>2011-06-03</p>

The Sweden Democrats uses a term to describe a situation where “swedes” are being discriminated against by other ethnic groups and where the elite is promoting this. The term “svenskfientlighet” can be translated as “swedofobia” and in this thesis a speech by the party leader Jimmie Åkesson held during the election campaign that solely was dedicated to this term is being analyzed with the help of tools developed by the scholar Ruth Wodak. Ruth Wodak has previously analyzed the rhetoric by other European right-wing-populist parties like FPÖ in Austria and has asked for other researchers to analyze the speech used by right-wing-populist and extremist parties to get a better understanding for just how these parties construct their different enemies. This thesis show how the Sweden Democrats use a term that has been founded by more extreme parties, groups that they themselves claim they do not have much in common with. The rhetoric has though developed in a populist direction where the party members or even leaders put themselves in a position as victims of a widely spread hostility directed towards them, on the sole basis that they stand up for what is Swedish.

In the Swedish general elections of 2010, the party the Sweden Democrats for the first time entered the parliament. In an election otherwise characterised by competition between two explicit political blocs, the Sweden Democrats profiled itself as a party free from ideological blinders, ready to represent the will of the people. Commonly referred to as a populist party, there is considerable disagreement about where in the Swedish political space the party actually belongs. At the same time, there exist within political science a multitude of methodological approaches aimed at answering such questions. By combining election manifesto content analysis and survey-based approaches, the study of this paper presents cross-validated estimates of where in Swedish political space the Sweden Democrats belong. The study also evaluates strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches to the estimation of policy positions in the specific context of the Sweden Democrats. The party is found to be economically centrist but highly authoritarian, making it an outlier along both a "traditional" and a Swedish left-right continuum. Some methodological difficulties that may be particularly important to consider when analyzing parties such as the Sweden Democrats, e.g. bias, dimensional salience and linguistic volatility, are suggested.