Sweden
IMAGO/TT
The Sámi, spread out over the northern parts of the nation-state territories of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, are the only indigenous people recognised within the European Union. A young generation of Sámi activists is currently at the forefront of social struggles in northern Europe, rejecting “green colonialism” and demanding political sovereignty.
When, in August 2025, the entire church of Giron (Kiruna)[1] was moved by special trucks to a new location five kilometers away, the event was broadcasted live on Swedish television. It marked the...
read more "Resistance and Resilience in Sápmi"
read more "Resistance and Resilience in Sápmi"
IMAGO/TT
30 years of Swedish EU-membership: From socialist outsider to frugal stalwart
As Sweden marks 30 years of European Union (EU) membership this year, a perplexing image emerges: a country which for large parts of the 20th century resisted membership in the Common Market is now one of the most pro-EU on the continent (a record 68 percent of the population supported membership in 2023, rising continuously since 2001).[1] At the same time, the implications of this membership are almost never discussed: the European ...
read more "30 years of Swedish EU-membership: From socialist outsider to frugal stalwart"
read more "30 years of Swedish EU-membership: From socialist outsider to frugal stalwart"
IMAGO/TT
In northern Sweden, the rapid expansion of green industries is transforming the region—but at what cost? As billions are invested in new mines, battery factories, and wind farms—investments are expected to reach 1,400 billion SEK (€120 billion) by 2040—local communities are caught between promises of economic prosperity and the pressures of environmental and social change. Driving this boom is the global race for minerals essential to the energy transition—rare earth metals, lithium, and other critical resources that ...
read more "Sweden’s “Green Transition”: Opportunities and Challenges"
read more "Sweden’s “Green Transition”: Opportunities and Challenges"
IMAGO/TT
After winning over 11 percent of the vote, and two mandates, in June’s European Parliament elections, the Swedish Left Party Vänsterpartiet is celebrating its best election results in twenty years. The historic result brought the party a step closer to fulfilling large parts of its main strategy, something it has been working towards for more than a decade. How this outcome is to be interpreted – whether as a direct result of this strategy, or a widening of it – is now up for debate.
The European election also took place mere...
read more "Sweden’s Left Party celebrates its biggest win in 20 year"
read more "Sweden’s Left Party celebrates its biggest win in 20 year"
Agnes Stuber
An interview with Hanna Gedin from the Swedish Left Party Vänsterpartiet on the priorities and challenges of the Swedish Left ahead of the European elections.
In the lead up to the 2024 European Parliament elections this June, the Rosa Luxemburg-Stiftung is conducting a series of interviews with parties and candidates from across the EU on the election campaign, their political demands, and the challenges for left forces domestically and at a European level. Duroyan Fertl spoke to Hanna Gedin, second on the list for Swedish left party ...
read more "”We need to give people hope”"
read more "”We need to give people hope”"
Event ReportOn 8-9 June 2023 the Brussels Office of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung (RLS) hosted a workshop in Malmö to facilitate the exchange of experiences and strategies between several left-wing parties grappling with the issue of security policy, particularly in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The event was held face-to-face and invitation-only to guarantee an atmosphere of trust and confidentiality to participants.
The workshop brought together 20 party activists and decision-makers from the political left in Sweden, ...
read more "“Security and the Left” – Impact Workshop"
read more "“Security and the Left” – Impact Workshop"
In late March of this year, the Swedish Parliament voted by a large majority to join NATO and abandon the country’s traditional policy of military non-alignment. Only the Left and Green parties voted against the move.
Outside parliament, a majority of the Swedish people also favour joining NATO. Next door, Finland’s NATO membership is already a fact. The immediate reason for this shift is clear: NATO supporters have a superior campaigner for their cause in Vladimir Putin. Russia’s invasion and occupation of parts of Ukraine has shifted public opinion ...
read more "Sweden in NATO — And Then What?"
read more "Sweden in NATO — And Then What?"
In June 2022, the Brussels Office of Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung hosted a workshop in Copenhagen to better understand and compare the central issues, experiences and strategies of left-wing parties’ participation in, or support of, governments in the region. The event was face-to-face and by-invitation only to guarantee an atmosphere of trust and confidentiality to participants.
The workshop brought together 30 party activists and decision-makers from among the political left in Sweden, Denmark and Germany.[1] Participation ...
read more "Impact workshop: “The Left in Power”, Copenhagen 9-10 June"
read more "Impact workshop: “The Left in Power”, Copenhagen 9-10 June"
The political results of the Swedish election are in, and they bear all the hallmarks of a bad dystopian novel. The new government will be comprised of the Moderates, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, and – in all ways except appointed ministers – the far-right Sweden Democrats.
Broadly speaking, the Moderates get all the central functions of government, including the role of Prime Minister, ministers of finance, justice, and foreign affairs, while the Christian Democrats get social issues and health care, with the Liberals ...
read more "Sweden’s new government – a dystopian nightmare"
read more "Sweden’s new government – a dystopian nightmare"
With almost all votes counted from Sunday’s election, it looks like Sweden’s right-wing parties are set to take power with a razor-thin majority, ending eight years of social democratic government. For the first time, this conservative coalition also includes the far-right Sweden Democrats, who have emerged as the country’s second largest party, despite their roots in Sweden’s neo-Nazi movement. The result is an evident decline for the progressive spectrum of Swedish politics as a whole and the Left party in ...
read more "Sweden: right-wing coalition wins election by the narrowest of margins"
read more "Sweden: right-wing coalition wins election by the narrowest of margins"