Abstract
This chapter has two aims. First, we describe the Swedish authorities’ management of the pandemic in 2020. Their approach deviated markedly from policies pursued in neighbouring countries, with respect to the authorities’ understanding of the virus; the measures adopted to counter the spread of the virus; the reliance on recommendations to citizens rather than legally binding instructions; and, most notably, the extensive delegation of policy-making by the government to a technocratic authority, the Public Health Agency. Second, we try to explain this policy deviation. We show that Swedish constitutional arrangements, with relatively autonomous, policy-delivering agencies, are a necessary but insufficient condition for explaining the outcome. Three additional conditions are needed: assertive leadership within the Public Health Agency; a weak and passive government; and citizens’ trust in public institutions, reflected in rallying around the flag and in supportive media coverage, all which cemented initial policy choices.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
The citations in this paragraph are taken from the English-language version of the strategy, published the day before (Government Offices of Sweden, 2020).
- 2.
Despite Tegnell's scepticism, it stopped “non-necessary” travel into Sweden from outside Western Europe, at the EU's request, and then banned visits to care homes (Reg. 17, 31 Mar.).
- 3.
Alleged ministerial rule can be, and often is, reported by members of parliament to and investigated by a standing parliamentary committee, the Committee on the Constitution (Instrument of Government, Ch. 13, Art. 1, 2; see also GRECO, 2019, p. 22).
- 4.
When she took over as prime minister in November 2021, Magdalena Andersson immediately moved the secretariat back into the Prime Minister's Office (Regeringen, 2021).
- 5.
Under the condition that it is in line with the regulations and quality requirements laid out in the Health and Medical Services Act and the Social Services Act.
- 6.
The largest share for private providers is in primary care, where about half of patients visits (49%) are to private providers, and nearly half of health centres are private (Vårdföretagarna, 2022, pp. 44, 46). In elderly care, private providers deliver about 24 per cent of home care hours. Of those elderly living in nursing homes about 20% live in private nursing homes (p. 60).
- 7.
It receives state grants for implementing services in agreement with government (Feltenius, 2016, p. 388).
- 8.
“Public health, we may agree, mangling Clausewitz, is a continuation of politics by other means” (Baldwin, 2005, p. 212).
- 9.
That said, we identify differences in some of Giesecke and Tegnell's initial stated views on coronavirus, such as its infectiousness (Andersson and Aylott, 2020, p. 5).
Abbreviations
- AB:
-
Aftonbladet
- DN:
-
Dagens Nyheter
- Exp.:
-
Expressen
- FHM:
-
Swedish Public Health Agency (Folkhälsomyndigheten)
- MR:
-
Media report
- Reg.:
-
Regeringskansliet
- SPA:
-
Statement by public authority
- SR:
-
Swedish Radio
- SvD:
-
Svenska Dagbladet
- SVT:
-
Swedish Television
References
Ahlbäck Öberg, S., & Wockelberg, H. (2016). The public sector and the courts. In J. Pierre (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of Swedish politics (pp. 130–146). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Åkesson, J. (2020). Tegnell måste ta ansvar för misstagen och avgå. DN, 7 June.
Andén, A. (2020). Svenska journalister har en del att lära, Svenska Dagbladet, 23 June.
Andersson, U. (2021a). Förtroende för medier: Vinnare och förlorare under pandemin. SOM-undersökningen om coronaviruset 2021. Retrieved from https://www.gu.se/sites/default/files/
Andersson, U. (2021b). Myndighetsförtroende under coronapandemin. SOM-undersökningen om coronaviruset 2021. Retrieved from https://www.gu.se/sites/default/files/2021-10/Myndighetsf%C3%B6rtroende%20under%20pandemin%202020-2021.pdf
Andersson, S., & Aylott, N. (2020). Sweden and coronavirus: Unexceptional exceptionalism. Social Sciences, 9(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9120232
Andersson, U., & Oscarsson, H. (2020). Institutionsförtroendet inte lika politiserat under pandemin. SOM-undersökningen om coronaviruset 2020. Retrieved from https://www.gu.se/sites/default/files/2020-10/4.%20Institutionsf%C3%B6rtroendet%20inte%20lika%20politiserat%20under%20pandemin.pdf
Andersson, S., Aylott, N., & Eriksson, J. (2022). Democracy and technocracy in Sweden’s experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Political Science, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2022.832518
Aylott, N., & Bolin, N. (2019). A party system in flux: The Swedish parliamentary election of September 2018. West European Politics, 42(7), 1504–1515.
Aylott, N., & Bolin, N. (2021). The rule of the Valberedning? Party leader selection in Sweden. In Managing leader selection in European political parties (pp. 175–195). Springer.
Baldwin, P. (2005). Disease and democracy: The industrialized world faces AIDS. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Baldwin, P. (2021). Fighting the first wave. Cambridge: Cambridge Books.
Bergman, T. (1993). Constitutional design and government formation: The expected consequences of negative parliamentarism. Scandinavian Political Studies, 16, 285–304.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9477.1993.tb00042.x
Bergman, T., & Bolin, N. (2011). Swedish democracy: Crumbling political parties, a feeble Riksdag, and technocratic power holders. In T. Bergman & K. Strøm (Eds.), The Madisonian turn: Political parties and parliamentary democracy in Nordic Europe (pp. 251–293). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Bergman, T., & Strom, K. (2011). The Madisonian turn: Political parties and parliamentary democracy in Nordic Europe. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Bjurwald, L. (2021). Maktens granskare eller maktens megafoner? Svensk journalistik under coronapandemin. Retrieved from https://naringslivets-medieinstitut.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Coronarapporten_2.pdf
Calmfors, L. (2020). Folkhälsomyndigheten har fått för stor makt i coronabekämpningen. Dagens Nyheter, mars 20.
Cornia, A., Dressel, K., & Pfeil, P. (2016). Risk cultures and dominant approaches towards disasters in seven European countries. Journal of Risk Research, 19(3), 288–304.https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2014.961520
Ekengren Oscarsson, H. (2013). Väljare är inga dumbommar. Retrieved from https://politologerna.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/valjare-ar-inga-dumbommar/
Ellingsen, T., & Roine, J. (2020). Public policy and the Swedish model: What was the Swedish government’s approach to the pandemic, and how was it received in Sweden? Stockholm: Stockholm School of Economics, Institute for Research.
Eriksson, G. (2020). Folkhälsonationalism ligger bakom det svenska undantaget. SvD, 28 April.
Esaiasson, P., Sohlberg, J., Ghersetti, M., & Johansson, B. (2021). How the coronavirus crisis affects citizen trust in institutions and in unknown others: Evidence from ‘the Swedish experiment’. European Journal of Political Research, 60(3), 748–760. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12419
Feltenius, D. (2016). Subnational government in a multilevel perspective. In J. Pierre (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of Swedish politics (pp. 383–398). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Folkhälsomyndigheten. (2018). Brief facts and organization. Retrieved from https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/the-public-health-agency-of-sweden/about-us/brief-facts-and-organization/
Folkhälsomyndigheten. (2019). Pandemiberedskap. Hur vi Förbereder oss — ett kunskapsunderlag. Stockholm: Public Health Agency.
Försvarshögskolan. (2021). Förutsättningar för krisberedskap och totalförsvar i Sverige. Retrieved from https://fhs.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1593002/FULLTEXT02.pdf
Giesecke, J. (2020). Forskare bör hålla sig i sina områden. Svenska Dagbladet, 23 March.
Government Offices of Sweden. (2020). Strategy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Website, 6 April.
Gustavsson, G. (2021). Du stolta, du fria: om svenskarna, Sverigebilden och folkhälsopatriotismen. Stockholm: Kaunitz-Olsson.
GRECO. (2019). Evaluation report: Sweden (Fifth evaluation round: Preventing corruption and promoting integrity in central governments (top executive functions) and law enforcement agencies. Retrieved from https://rm.coe.int/fifth-evaluation-round-preventing-corruption-and-promoting-integrity-i/1680943be3
Hall, P. (2016). The Swedish administrative model. In J. Pierre (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of Swedish politics (pp. 299–314). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hetherington, M., & Nelson, M. J. (2003). Anatomy of a rally effect: George W. Bush and the war on terrorism. PS: Political Science & Politics, 36(1), 37–42. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096503001665
Höjer, H. (2020). När vi lyssnade på experterna. Kvartal, December 7.
Holmberg, S., & Rothstein, B. (2020). Social trust: The Nordic Gold? (1653–8919). Retrieved from https://www.gu.se/sites/default/files/2020-05/2020_1_Holmberg_Rothstein.pdf
Johansson, B., Hopmann, D. N., & Shehata, A. (2021a). When the rally-around-the-flag effect disappears, or: When the COVID-19 pandemic becomes “normalized”. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, 31(sup1), 321–334. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2021.1924742
Johansson, B., Sohlberg, J., Esaiasson, P., & Ghersetti, M. (2021b). Why Swedes don’t wear face masks during the pandemic—A consequence of blindly trusting the government. Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research, 4, 335–358.
Jonung, L. (2020). Sweden’s constitution decides its covid-19 exceptionalism. Retrieved from https://project.nek.lu.se/publications/workpap/papers/wp20_11.pdf
Karlsten, E. (2020). Mejlen som avslöjar Gieseckes inflytande över coronaplanen. Expressen, 11 August.
Kiewiet, D. R., & McCubbins, M. D. (1991). The logic of delegation: Congressional parties and the appropriations process. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
Kleja, M. (2020). FHM önskade och fick ‘avgörande inflytande’ över regeringens beslut. Altinget, 11 September.
Krisinformation.se. (2021). Krishanteringens grunder. Retrieved from https://www.krisinformation.se/detta-gor-samhallet/mer-om-sveriges-krishanteringssystem/krishanteringens-grunder
Kudo, P., & Nilsson, E. (2022). Dokument visar regeringens tvekan om vägvalet i pandemin, SvD, 13 February 2022. Retrieved from https://esvd.svd.se/p/svenska-dagbladet/2022-02-14/a/dokument-visar-regeringens/1001/497307/26294229
Lindahl, J., Hellström, J., & Bäck, H. (2019). Sweden: Minority government as the norm. In: M. Evans (Ed.), Coalition government as a reflection of a nation’s politics and society, London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429422379-8
Lönegård, C. (2020). Sprickan mellan regeringen och Folkhälsomyndigheten växer. Svenska Dagbladet, 22 November.
Lupia, A. (2006). Delegation and its perils. In K. Strøm, W. C. Müller & T. Bergman (Eds.), Delegation and accountability in parliamentary democracies (pp. 31–54). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mahoney, J. (2021). The logic of social science. Princeton University Press.
Mellgren, F., & Ennart, H. (2020). Okända kurvan visar hur äldre prioriteras bort. Svenska Dagbladet, 30 May.
Müller, W. C., Bergman, T., & Strøm, K. (2006). Parliamentary democracy: Promise and problems. In K. Strøm, W. C. Müller & T. Bergman (Eds.), Delegation and accountability in parliamentary democracies (pp. 3–32). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Murray, S. (2017). The “rally-‘round-the-flag” phenomenon and the diversionary use of force. In: Oxford research encyclopedia of politics.
Örstadius, K., Delin, M., & Eriksson, K. (2020). Så gick det till när regeringen gav taktpinnen till expertmyndigheten. Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved from https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/sa-gick-det-till-nar-regeringen-gav-taktpinnen-till-expertmyndigheten/
Our World in Data. (2022). Data on coronavirus, 28 June.
Pierre, J. (2020). Nudges against pandemics: Sweden’s COVID-19 containment strategy in perspective. Policy and Society, 39(3), 478–493.https://doi.org/10.1080/14494035.2020.1783787
Regeringen. (2021). Regeringsförklaringen, 30 November 2021. Retrieved from https://www.regeringen.se/tal/2021/11/regeringsforklaring-avgiven-av-statsminister-magdalena-andersson/
Regeringskansliet. (2019). Regeringskansliets krishantering. Government Offices website. Retrieved from https://www.regeringen.se/regeringens-politik/krisberedskap/regeringskansliets-krishantering/
Regeringskansliet. (2020). Strategi med anledning av det nya coronaviruset. Website, 7 April.
Regeringskansliet. (2022). Regeringskansliets anställda. Retrieved from https://www.regeringen.se/regeringskansliet/regeringskansliets-anstallda/
SALAR. (2021). Swedish association of local authorities and regions. Retrieved from https://skr.se/skr/tjanster/englishpages.411.html
SFS. (2006:827). Förordning (2006:637) om kommuners och regioners åtgärder inför och vid extraordinära händelser i fredstid och höjd beredskap. Retrieved from https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/forordning-2006637-om-kommuners-och-landstings_sfs-2006-637
SFS. (2013:1020). Förordning (2013:1020) med instruktion för Folkhälsomyndigheten. Retrieved from https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/forordning-20131020-med-instruktion-for_sfs-2013-1020
SFS. (2015:1052). Förordning (2015:1052) om krisberedskap och bevakningsansvariga myndigheters åtgärder vid höjd beredskap. Retrieved from https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/forordning-20151052-om-krisberedskap-och_sfs-2015-1052
SOU. (2021:89). Summary. Sverige under pandemin—Volym 2 Sjukvård och folkhälsa. Retrieved from https://coronakommissionen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/summary-sweden-in-the-pandemic.pdf
SOU. (2022:10a). Sverige under pandemin—Volym 2 Förutsättningar, vägval och utvärdering. Retrieved from https://coronakommissionen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/sverige-under-pandemin-volym-2_webb-slutbetankande.pdf
SOU. (2022:10b). Summary of final report by the Corona Commission. Retrieved from https://coronakommissionen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/summary_20220225.pdf
SR. (2020). Coronapandemin: P1 Dokumentär: Miniserie, episodes released 27 October (“Den dolda smitten”), 3 November (“Den missade testningen”), 10 November (“Testa, testa, testa”). Stockholm: Swedish Radio.
Statskontoret. (2022). Statsförvaltningen i korthet. Retrieved from https://www.statskontoret.se/publicerat/publikationer/publikationer-2022/statsforvaltningen-i-korthet-2022/
Strøm, K. (2006). Parliamentary democracy and delegation. In K. Strøm, W. C. Müller & T. Bergman (Eds.), Delegation and accuntability in parliamentary democracies (pp. 54–106). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tegnell, A. (2020). Sommar i P1. Stockholm: Swedish Radio, 30 June.
Vårdföretagarna. (2022). Privat vårdfakta 2022: Fakta och statistik om den privat drivna vård- och omsorgsbranschen. Retrieved from https://www.almega.se/app/uploads/sites/3/2022/06/privat-vardfakta-2022.pdf
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Appendix A: Press reports and statements by public authorities
Appendix A: Press reports and statements by public authorities
SPA | MR | Headline | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Folkhälsomyndigheten: Liten risk för spridning i Sverige | SR | 27 January 2020 | |
1 | Tror inte på ett stort utbrott i Sverige | AB | 26 February 2020 | |
1 | Coronarådet: Finns ingen anledning att stanna hemma trots resor | Skolvärlden | 28 February 2020 | |
1 | Anders Tegnell: ‘Min bedömning om Kina visade sig inte vara rätt’ | SvD | 7 March 2020 | |
1 | Myndigheter trotsar råd om coronaviruset | SR | 11 March 2020 | |
1 | Interview with Anders Tegnell | Expressen TV | 11 March 2020 | |
1 | Tegnell om danskbeslut: ‘Fullständigt meningslös åtgärd’ | AB | 13 March 2020 | |
1 | Personer över 70 bör begränsa sociala kontakter tills vidare | FHM | 16 March 2020 | |
1 | Brandtalet: Därför kan vi inte stänga skolorna | AB | 17 March 2020 | |
1 | Ett tillfälligt förbud mot resor till EU via Sverige med anledning av covid-19 | Regeringskansliet | 17 March 2020 | |
1 | Pressträff om covid-19 (coronavirus) 26 mars 2020 | FHM (YouTube) | 26 March 2020 | |
1 | Nationellt besöksförbud på äldreboenden | Regeringskansliet | 31 March 2020 | |
1 | Vem är tysken som ställer Tegnell mot väggen? | DN | 1 April 2020 | |
1 | Nya allmänna råd: Håll avstånd och ta personligt ansvar | FHM | 1 April 2020 | |
1 | “Jag tror vi klarar den här utmaningen” | Sjukhusläkaren | 3 April 2020 | |
1 | Scientist leading Sweden’s battle against coronavirus says Britain’s lockdown has gone too far as his country allows bars, restaurants and schools to remain open | MailOnline | 4 April 2020 | |
1 | Stefan Löfven: Sverige har haft för dålig krisberedskap | SvD | 9 April 2020 | |
1 | Debate between Anders Tegnell and Lena Einhorn | Aktuellt, SVT | 14 April 2020 | |
1 | Closing borders is ridiculous’: the epidemiologist behind Sweden’s controversial coronavirus’ strategy | Nature | 21 April 2020 | |
1 | Folkhälsomyndighetens gd till motattack mot Åkesson | SVT | 7 June 2020 | |
1 | Smittspridning | FHM | 7 September 2020 | |
1 | Personer som bor med smittade av covid-19 ska betraktas som möjliga fall | FHM | 1 October 2020 | |
1 | Förslag till förordning om tillfälligt förbud mot servering av alkohol | Regeringskansliet | 11 November 2020 | |
1 | Tegnell: Färre var immuna i Sverige än vad vi trodde | SvD | 13 November 2020 | |
1 | Förslag om förbud mot att hålla allmänna sammankomster och offentliga tillställningar med fler än åtta deltagare | Regeringskansliet | 16 November 2020 | |
1 | Symtomfria barn bör stanna hemma om någon i familjen har covid-19 | FHM | 1 December 2020 | |
1 | Nya coronarådet: Friska barn ska stanna hemma | Exp | 1 December 2020 | |
1 | Tegnell: Den brittiska varianten tar över snabbt | SvD | 23 februari 2021 | |
1 | Nya regionala rekommendationer | Stockholm Region | 23 February 2021 | |
1 | Rekommendation om munskydd i kammare och kammarfoajé | Sverige riksdag | 25 February 2021 |
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Andersson, S., Aylott, N. (2023). An Exceptional Case: Sweden and the Pandemic. In: Cafruny, A.W., Simona Talani, L. (eds) The Political Economy of Global Responses to COVID-19. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23914-4_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23914-4_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-23913-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-23914-4
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)