This study explores the phenomenon of personalization within the political sphere. More specifically, it aims at exploring the strategical personalization of Swedish party leaders during the national election campaign of 2018. A further aim is to generate theoretical contributions to the area of personalization. As empirical material, the social media updates of three party leaders are analyzed under the period of 13 weeks before the election day, using a mixed methodological approach for an in-depth qualitative study. Regarding methodologies, grounded theory and coding is employed along with a rhetorical analysis that enable a systematic analysis of visual messages. The result indicates that the studied party leaders portrayed themselves as an integrated part of society, mediating a sense of presence and acknowledgement of the voters. In addition to this, the party leaders presented themselves as ordinary people and unified with the voters. The result also points to the practice of mediating a sense of social and cultural status, involving influencers in the communication and stepping into roles outside of the explicitly political arena. In terms of theoretical contributions, the generated theory contributes in the sense that it offers additional dimensions to the notion of "self-presentation", which is recognized as a common theme among prior theories. According to prior theories, individual politicians presents themselves as professional politicians and ordinary human beings. While the generated theory supports this perspective, it also highlights the aspect of intentionally integrating the voters into the self-presentations of individual politicians. Moreover, the generated theory emphasizes the perspective of social and cultural significance when regarding self-presentations of representatives.

Under sommaren 2023 präglades Sverige av koranbränningar och ett försämrat säkerhetsläge. Studien undersöker svenska partiledares kriskommunikation på plattformen Instagram under denna period och studiens syfte är således att undersöka hur svenska partiledare använde plattformen Instagram som kommunikationskanal för kriskommunikation under sommaren 2023. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys, med semiotiska och retoriska inslag, har vi analyserat sju svenska partiledares Instagram-inlägg under denna tidsperiod. Analysen gjordes med hjälp av ett kodschema och endast de inlägg som var relaterade till ämnet analyserades. Studien utgår från en socialkonstruktivistisk teori, gestaltningsteori, samt teorier om medialisering och medielogik. Med hjälp av retoriska begrepp som ethos, pathos och logos samt de semiotiska begreppen denotation, konnotation och myt kunde analysen utvecklas ytterligare. Studiens resultat visar att partiledarna främst använder Instagram för att förmedla information om krisen, upprätthålla en politisk och sakkunnig image, samt påvisa de åtgärder man gör gällande krisen. Partiledarna visar sällan upp en personlig sida utan är sakliga och opersonliga i sin kommunikation. I resultatet går det även att finna en pågående maktkamp, regeringen och oppositionen emellan. De två allianserna är i en påtaglig konflikt gällande vilka som gör mest för landet i krisen. Sammanfattningsvis går det att visa på att Instagram används av politiker för att förmedla fakta till befolkningen och detta sker genom en envägskommunikation. Även om tidigare forskning visar att det är fördelaktigt för en politiker att vara personlig och nära sin publik i en kriskommunikation, är detta inte något vi kan se hos de svenska partiledarna. / During the summer of 2023, Sweden was marked by Quran burnings and a deteriorating security situation. This study examines the crisis communication of Swedish party leaders on Instagram during this period, with the aim of investigating how Swedish party leaders used Instagram as a channel for crisis communication in the summer of 2023. Through a qualitative content analysis, with an incorporation of semiotic and rhetorical elements, we analyzed the Instagram posts of seven Swedish party leaders during this period. The analysis was conducted using a code scheme, and only posts related to the topic were analyzed. The study is based on a social constructivist theory, narrative theory, as well as theories of mediatization and media logic. Using rhetorical concepts such as ethos, pathos, and logos, as well as semiotic concepts like denotation, connation, and myth, the analysis was further developed.  The results of the study showed that Swedish party leaders primarily used Instagram to convey information about the crisis, maintain a political and knowledgeable image, and demonstrate the measures taken regarding the crisis. Party leaders rarely showed a personal side but rather maintained a factual and impersonal communication style. The results also reveal an ongoing power struggle between the government and the opposition. The two alliances are in a noticeable conflict regarding who is doing the right things for the country during the crisis. In summary, it can be shown that Instagram is used by politicans to convey facts to the population, and this occurs through one-way communication. Altough previous research indicates that it is advantageous for a politican to be personal and close to their audience in crisis communication, this is not observed among Swedish party leaders.