This paper utilizes a combination of quantitative text analysis and idea analysis to examine the Swedish Social Democratic Party’s election manifestos. The analysis is conducted from the ideological perspective of reformist socialism where an ideal type of ideological perspective is created and operationalized through quantitative text analysis, identifying frequencies of key ideological expressions. The primary objective of the paper is to comprehensively examine ideological changes within the party during the 21st century. The findings suggest a decreasing ideological stance between 2002-2010 and an increasing ideological stance for 2014 and 2022, however, the results for 2014 cannot be substantiated. Additionally, the paper highlights the party’s consistent ideological focus on education, welfare policies, equality, and inequality. But, despite the persistent concern over growing inequality, there has been a comparatively lesser emphasis on ideological expressions aimed at tackling the issue and there have also been surprisingly few ideological expressions addressing class struggle. Notable ideological shifts include the disappearance of expressions related to justice in 2014, an increased emphasis on democratic control in 2022, and a notable rise in ideological expressions arguing for a stronger welfare state. In conclusion, this paper enhances the understanding of ideological dynamics within the Swedish Social Democratic Party, uncovering notable shifts and trends in ideological expressions over time.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-121083 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Andreasson, Edvin |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för statsvetenskap (ST) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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