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Sweden's Constitution Decides Its Covid-19 Exceptionalism

Jonung, Lars LU (2020) In Working Papers.
Abstract
The Swedish policy response to covid-19 stands out as exceptional in international comparisons. The approach adopted is fundamentally determined by the Swedish constitution. Three articles of the constitution are central for this explanation. The first one guarantees the freedom of movement for Swedish citizens, thus ruling out the use of nation-wide lockdowns as an instrument in peacetime. The second one establishes independence for public agencies, allowing them to design and administer the policy response to the pandemic with a minimal interference by the central government. The third one reserves exceptional powers to local government, making a central response to the pandemic difficult to implement. In addition, the Swedish approach... (More)
The Swedish policy response to covid-19 stands out as exceptional in international comparisons. The approach adopted is fundamentally determined by the Swedish constitution. Three articles of the constitution are central for this explanation. The first one guarantees the freedom of movement for Swedish citizens, thus ruling out the use of nation-wide lockdowns as an instrument in peacetime. The second one establishes independence for public agencies, allowing them to design and administer the policy response to the pandemic with a minimal interference by the central government. The third one reserves exceptional powers to local government, making a central response to the pandemic difficult to implement. In addition, the Swedish approach is fostered by strong trust by the public in the government, in public authorities and in the workings of the political system. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Working paper/Preprint
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Sweden, covid-19, pandemic, constitution, trust, E65, E71, F52, H10, H40, H70, I10, Sweden, covid-19, pandemic, constitution, trust, E65, E71, F52, H10, H40, H70, I10
in
Working Papers.
issue
2020:11
pages
14 pages
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
34d3eb5b-7ac7-42ce-94f0-918cac8aae15
date added to LUP
2020-06-11 09:18:57
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:52:00
@misc{34d3eb5b-7ac7-42ce-94f0-918cac8aae15,
  abstract     = {{The Swedish policy response to covid-19 stands out as exceptional in international comparisons. The approach adopted is fundamentally determined by the Swedish constitution. Three articles of the constitution are central for this explanation. The first one guarantees the freedom of movement for Swedish citizens, thus ruling out the use of nation-wide lockdowns as an instrument in peacetime. The second one establishes independence for public agencies, allowing them to design and administer the policy response to the pandemic with a minimal interference by the central government. The third one reserves exceptional powers to local government, making a central response to the pandemic difficult to implement. In addition, the Swedish approach is fostered by strong trust by the public in the government, in public authorities and in the workings of the political system.}},
  author       = {{Jonung, Lars}},
  keywords     = {{Sweden; covid-19; pandemic; constitution; trust; E65; E71; F52; H10; H40; H70; I10; Sweden; covid-19; pandemic; constitution; trust; E65; E71; F52; H10; H40; H70; I10}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  number       = {{2020:11}},
  series       = {{Working Papers.}},
  title        = {{Sweden's Constitution Decides Its Covid-19 Exceptionalism}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/194581877/WP20_11.pdf}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}