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Green national paradox? : How the far right turned Sweden from a (reputed) pioneer of climate mitigation to an obstructor

Malm, Andreas LU ; Ekberg, Kristoffer LU orcid ; Englund, Christina ; Tagmose Grønkjær, Johanne ; Charlier, Martin ; Medin, Olivia and Holgersen, Ståle LU (2025) In Political Geography 122. p.1-10
Abstract
Sweden has swiftly transitioned from being considered a progressive pioneer in climate mitigation to the forefront of late obstruction. The proximate cause was the general elections in 2022, after which the Sweden Democrats (SD) gained authority over the country's climate policies. This paper explores how the far right turned Sweden from a (reputed) pioneer of climate mitigation to an obstructor, and discuss if this transition is also an expression of a ‘green national paradox’. Through interviews with SD members and analysis of political documents, we observe how the SD explicitly and extensively exploits Sweden's progressive image to justify its obstructionist climate agenda. Focusing on energy and transportation policies, our study... (More)
Sweden has swiftly transitioned from being considered a progressive pioneer in climate mitigation to the forefront of late obstruction. The proximate cause was the general elections in 2022, after which the Sweden Democrats (SD) gained authority over the country's climate policies. This paper explores how the far right turned Sweden from a (reputed) pioneer of climate mitigation to an obstructor, and discuss if this transition is also an expression of a ‘green national paradox’. Through interviews with SD members and analysis of political documents, we observe how the SD explicitly and extensively exploits Sweden's progressive image to justify its obstructionist climate agenda. Focusing on energy and transportation policies, our study delves into the SD's perception of Sweden's global climate role and discusses how this is used by the far right in their policies towards climate mitigation. (Less)
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author
; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Political Geography
volume
122
article number
103390
pages
10 pages
publisher
Routledge
external identifiers
  • scopus:105010963655
ISSN
1873-5096
DOI
10.1016/j.polgeo.2025.103390
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
169e629d-d06c-4963-9ede-624b4458564a
date added to LUP
2025-08-12 22:08:33
date last changed
2025-08-14 10:42:29
@article{169e629d-d06c-4963-9ede-624b4458564a,
  abstract     = {{Sweden has swiftly transitioned from being considered a progressive pioneer in climate mitigation to the forefront of late obstruction. The proximate cause was the general elections in 2022, after which the Sweden Democrats (SD) gained authority over the country's climate policies. This paper explores how the far right turned Sweden from a (reputed) pioneer of climate mitigation to an obstructor, and discuss if this transition is also an expression of a ‘green national paradox’. Through interviews with SD members and analysis of political documents, we observe how the SD explicitly and extensively exploits Sweden's progressive image to justify its obstructionist climate agenda. Focusing on energy and transportation policies, our study delves into the SD's perception of Sweden's global climate role and discusses how this is used by the far right in their policies towards climate mitigation.}},
  author       = {{Malm, Andreas and Ekberg, Kristoffer and Englund, Christina and Tagmose Grønkjær, Johanne and Charlier, Martin and Medin, Olivia and Holgersen, Ståle}},
  issn         = {{1873-5096}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{1--10}},
  publisher    = {{Routledge}},
  series       = {{Political Geography}},
  title        = {{Green national paradox? : How the far right turned Sweden from a (reputed) pioneer of climate mitigation to an obstructor}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2025.103390}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.polgeo.2025.103390}},
  volume       = {{122}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}