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Natoansökan och demokratisk legitimitet: En kvalitativ innehållsanalys av riksdagens debatt utifrån deliberativ demokratiteori

Riberdahl, Alva LU (2025) STVK04 20251
Department of Political Science
Abstract
The Swedish Nato application marked a fundamental change in Swedish foreign policy, foregoing the previously prevailing principle of neutrality. This paper aims to broaden the literature on the Swedish parliamentary debate on NATO by examining it through a democratic lens. The study assesses the conformity of the governmental debate in the spring of 2022 with deliberative democratic ideals. This study's time frame spans from the 24th of February to the 15th of May 2022. The debate is analysed through governmental debates, written questions submitted by members of parliament, and the corresponding ministerial answers. Using a qualitative content analysis, the material was coded using indicators adapted from the Deliberative Quality Index... (More)
The Swedish Nato application marked a fundamental change in Swedish foreign policy, foregoing the previously prevailing principle of neutrality. This paper aims to broaden the literature on the Swedish parliamentary debate on NATO by examining it through a democratic lens. The study assesses the conformity of the governmental debate in the spring of 2022 with deliberative democratic ideals. This study's time frame spans from the 24th of February to the 15th of May 2022. The debate is analysed through governmental debates, written questions submitted by members of parliament, and the corresponding ministerial answers. Using a qualitative content analysis, the material was coded using indicators adapted from the Deliberative Quality Index (DQI), examining the presence of key deliberative democratic requirements in the debate. The findings suggest a weak congruence between the governmental debate on NATO and deliberative democratic ideals. Furthermore, the results illustrate a one-sided focus on the issue of NATO, with the debate being primarily dominated by proponents of NATO membership. This result emphasises the questionable legitimacy of the parliamentary decision on NATO as understood through deliberative democratic theory. This study thus illuminates democratic deficiencies within Swedish foreign policy, which have previously been overlooked in research regarding Sweden’s NATO application. (Less)
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author
Riberdahl, Alva LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK04 20251
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Nato, Sverige, Deliberativ demokrati, Natoansökan, Demokratisk legitimitet
language
Swedish
id
9189802
date added to LUP
2025-08-08 11:08:59
date last changed
2025-08-08 11:08:59
@misc{9189802,
  abstract     = {{The Swedish Nato application marked a fundamental change in Swedish foreign policy, foregoing the previously prevailing principle of neutrality. This paper aims to broaden the literature on the Swedish parliamentary debate on NATO by examining it through a democratic lens. The study assesses the conformity of the governmental debate in the spring of 2022 with deliberative democratic ideals. This study's time frame spans from the 24th of February to the 15th of May 2022. The debate is analysed through governmental debates, written questions submitted by members of parliament, and the corresponding ministerial answers. Using a qualitative content analysis, the material was coded using indicators adapted from the Deliberative Quality Index (DQI), examining the presence of key deliberative democratic requirements in the debate. The findings suggest a weak congruence between the governmental debate on NATO and deliberative democratic ideals. Furthermore, the results illustrate a one-sided focus on the issue of NATO, with the debate being primarily dominated by proponents of NATO membership. This result emphasises the questionable legitimacy of the parliamentary decision on NATO as understood through deliberative democratic theory. This study thus illuminates democratic deficiencies within Swedish foreign policy, which have previously been overlooked in research regarding Sweden’s NATO application.}},
  author       = {{Riberdahl, Alva}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Natoansökan och demokratisk legitimitet: En kvalitativ innehållsanalys av riksdagens debatt utifrån deliberativ demokratiteori}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}