Democracy as a predominant overarching ideology in Sweden?
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I have recently written about one of Sweden's latest academic/expert debates regarding democracy. You can read the first article written by political scientists Sten Widmalm and Thomas Persson and the reply by political scientist Ludvig Beckman. In this post, the last article by Widmalm and Persson is presented.
In their response to Beckman, Widmalm, and Persson write that Beckman “attributes to us a view that we have never expressed”. Widmalm and Persson argue that they have never claimed that they have data from any previous measurement occasion to compare with their recent research since their research was not to compare but to examine the responded citizens’ current valuation of democracy concerning several societal problems and crises.
Widmalm and Persson also write that their research focus was that if Swedish politicians, opinion-makers, and the institutions in society that are to uphold the democratic order become increasingly inclined to negotiate away rights and compromise on fundamental principles of freedom of expression, freedom of demonstration, and freedom of the press - the study results show that such attitudes and behaviors “may find unexpectedly strong resonance among the citizens."
Furthermore, Widmalm and Persson write that during the studies, they asked questions to respondents aimed at measuring the view of democracy as a form of government based on a general understanding of the concept of democracy:
Like much other survey research, we rely on the assumption that respondents have a reasonably accepted understanding of what democracy means.
Another point Widmalm and Persson are making is when it comes to Beckman’s criticism that the Swedish constitution (basic law) already allows for limitations of political freedoms and rights; for example, freedom of expression may be limited to national security during wartime. They argue that the research is not generally focusing on “extraordinary” situations such as the pandemic or war but on recent developments as regarding organized crime and climate change.
However, this does not apply to all the crises and societal problems we address in the survey, so the issue remains.
In the last part of their reply, Widmalm and Persson write about Tingsten since his writings from the 1960s “capture an important dividing line between different views on the importance of democracy as a form of government.” They write that in Sweden, political scientists, journalists, and opinion-makers have long assumed that democracy is a predominant overarching ideology:
But our conversations with students, teachers, and researchers, and the ideas and proposals recently put forward in various contexts by elected officials, administrators, and opinion leaders, made us wonder if citizens were also inclined to regard democracy as an ideology among all others.
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