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The Politics of Crime

Eriksson, Martin LU and Schindelmeiser, Aiken LU (2025) SOCK10 20251
Sociology
Abstract
The political debate surrounding criminal policy in Sweden has largely focused on orga-
nized crime, and the issue has been central during the 2022 election. With this under-
standing as a backdrop, this bachelor’s thesis seeks to understand how Swedish politicians
from the social democrats (S) and Sweden democrats (SD) parties frame organized crime
and criminal policy surrounding it. For this purpose, framing theory was employed along
with a thematic-analytical method to analyze criminal policy debates in the Swedish riks-
dag (parliament). The findings showed that organized crime is framed by both parties in
terms of its great harm, both for the individual and society at large – focusing on value-
based or institutional harm... (More)
The political debate surrounding criminal policy in Sweden has largely focused on orga-
nized crime, and the issue has been central during the 2022 election. With this under-
standing as a backdrop, this bachelor’s thesis seeks to understand how Swedish politicians
from the social democrats (S) and Sweden democrats (SD) parties frame organized crime
and criminal policy surrounding it. For this purpose, framing theory was employed along
with a thematic-analytical method to analyze criminal policy debates in the Swedish riks-
dag (parliament). The findings showed that organized crime is framed by both parties in
terms of its great harm, both for the individual and society at large – focusing on value-
based or institutional harm respectively – justifying decisive and strong punitive action.
However, significant differences lie in the causes and solutions they present. Here, SD
focuses heavily on cultural conflict brought about by immigration, with removal of dan-
gerous individuals who are outside of society being the best approach. S instead frames
organized crime around social inequality, societal failure and marginalization – portray-
ing crime as something that is born out of a societal failure. Thus, justifying their goals
for an expansion of welfare- and social initiatives. This supports a claim for a strong
politization of crime prevention, particularly along party-lines. Additionally, the findings
suggest that organized crime is used as a Trojan horse for other political goals and is used
for justifying increased punitiveness and state-expansion. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Eriksson, Martin LU and Schindelmeiser, Aiken LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
A framing analysis of Swedish politicians´ presentation of organized crime and it´s solutions in criminal policy debates
course
SOCK10 20251
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Framing theory, organized crime, politics, Swedish crime policy, security, the Social Democrats, the Sweden Democrats
language
English
id
9194563
date added to LUP
2025-06-10 16:38:28
date last changed
2025-06-10 16:38:28
@misc{9194563,
  abstract     = {{The political debate surrounding criminal policy in Sweden has largely focused on orga-
nized crime, and the issue has been central during the 2022 election. With this under-
standing as a backdrop, this bachelor’s thesis seeks to understand how Swedish politicians
from the social democrats (S) and Sweden democrats (SD) parties frame organized crime
and criminal policy surrounding it. For this purpose, framing theory was employed along
with a thematic-analytical method to analyze criminal policy debates in the Swedish riks-
dag (parliament). The findings showed that organized crime is framed by both parties in
terms of its great harm, both for the individual and society at large – focusing on value-
based or institutional harm respectively – justifying decisive and strong punitive action.
However, significant differences lie in the causes and solutions they present. Here, SD
focuses heavily on cultural conflict brought about by immigration, with removal of dan-
gerous individuals who are outside of society being the best approach. S instead frames
organized crime around social inequality, societal failure and marginalization – portray-
ing crime as something that is born out of a societal failure. Thus, justifying their goals
for an expansion of welfare- and social initiatives. This supports a claim for a strong
politization of crime prevention, particularly along party-lines. Additionally, the findings
suggest that organized crime is used as a Trojan horse for other political goals and is used
for justifying increased punitiveness and state-expansion.}},
  author       = {{Eriksson, Martin and Schindelmeiser, Aiken}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Politics of Crime}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}