This study investigates differences in foreign policy among Swedish political parties during 1972-1982. For 44 years, Sweden was led by the Social Democrats until the centre-right coalition gained power in 1976. Social Democrat Olof Palme is probably one of the most notable Swedish politicians, known for his strong commitment in foreign policy including opposition to American involvement in Vietnam. However, certain signs show that the centre-right parties also had a strong commitment in many conflicts during the investigated period. Deepened research comparing the left and the right during this period has however not been done. Hence, this study aims to compare if there was any change in policy after 1976, but also look into similarities and differences between the political parties during the whole period. This is done through a comparison of the yearly Swedish foreign policy debates from 1972 to 1982, comparing views in four conflicts at the time: Vietnam, South Africa, Afghanistan and Central America. The findings show many similarities and differences, with small general differences in Swedish foreign policy before and after the historical shift of power in 1976. Interestingly, there is a notable commitment to foreign policy among the centre-right parties - sometimes stronger than Palme and the Social Democrats.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-501392 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Karlsson, Axel |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen |
| 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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