Denna uppsats analyserar den svenska debatten kring att demokratin i Sverige är hotad under 2023. Uppsatsen syftar till att se vilka svenska aktörer som driver debatten i några av Sveriges mest lästa tidningar, samt analysera deras argument för att förstå vilken autokratiseringstyp, om någon, de hävdar att Sverige skulle befinna sig i. Vidare diskuteras även vilka utmaningar den mest framträdande autokratiseringstypen skulle skapa i Sverige. Detta görs genom en kvalitativ textanalys på tio utvalda debattartiklar, krönikor och ledare publicerade under 2023 i de utvalda tidningarna. Argumenten lyfts fram och analyseras sedan tillsammans med de fyra senast observerade autokratiseringstyperna. Analysen av argumenten visar att de flesta aktörer som påstår att demokratin är hotad har politisk vinning med undantag för några få. De hävdar att Sverige befinner sig i autokratiseringstyperna “hot och hat” samt “eliterna har makten”. Utmaningarna som tydligast identifieras kopplas till ”hot och hat” och innebär utmaningar för den lokala och regionala demokratin i Sverige med fokus på konsekvenserna av begräsningar av yttrandefriheten. Autokratiseringstyperna är endast observationer av processer i olika länder och det finns ingen forskning som pekar på vad som är ett exakt startskott för en demokratisk regression. Det finns heller ingen utländsk forskning på att den svenska demokratin skulle vara hotad. Därför går det inte att konstatera att Sverige faktiskt befinner sig i en pågående autokratiseringsprocess. / This essay analyzes the Swedish debate surrounding the perceived threat to democracy in Sweden during 2023. The aim of the essay is to identify the actors driving the debate in some of Sweden's most widely read newspapers, and to analyze their arguments in order to understand which type of autocratization, if any, they claim Sweden to be experiencing. Furthermore, the essay discusses the challenges that the most prominent type of autocratization would pose in Sweden. This is done through a qualitative textual analysis of ten selected opinion articles, columns, and editorials published in the selected newspapers during 2023. The arguments are highlighted and then analyzed alongside the four most recently observed types of autocratization. The analysis of the arguments reveals that most actors claiming democracy is threatened have political motives, with a few exceptions. They argue that Sweden is experiencing the autocratization types of "threat and hatred" and "the elites have power." The challenges most clearly identified are linked to "threat and hatred" and entail challenges for local and regional democracy in Sweden with a foucs on the consequences of restrictions on freedom of expression. The autocratization types are merely observations of autocratization processes in different countries, and there is no research indicating what constitutes an exact trigger for democratic regression. There is also no foreign research suggesting that Swedish democracy is under threat. Therefore, it cannot be concluded that Sweden is actually undergoing an autocratization process.

With more political and social discourse taking place online, particularly on social media, theorists have started labeling digital communicative realms as “online public spheres.” However, with the modern public sphere comes modern challenges to political communication; a core antagonist of which is political bots. Political bots are automated accounts that produce content and interact with individuals on political topics on social networks. In this thesis, I analyzed the presence of political bots on Twitter during the 2022 Swedish general election, and by examining the content posted by the bots, I investigated whether they jeopardized democratic functions of the online public sphere by publishing misrepresentation (i.e., artificially increasing the popularity of political actors and political ideas). The analysis uncovered significant bot presence during the 2022 Swedish general election; more than one-fifth of all election-related content was produced by bots, ~90% of which produced misrepresentation. I concluded that political bots jeopardized democratic functions of the online public sphere during the 2022 Swedish general election.