He Who Decides: Swedish Social Democratic Governements from a Presidentialisation Perspective

Using a presidentialisation perspective, this article investigates how the work of Swedish Social Democratic Governments has changed in recent decades. It examines whether the work of Government has become less collegial and more presidential, and also whether any such changes have taken place gradually or in the form of clear departures during recent years, which is in line with the presidentialisation thesis. The presidentialisation thesis gains only some support in the paper. The way the Swedish Government is composed and the way it works shows a considerable degree of inertia. However, some changes have occurred. These changes relate foremost to issues connected with the Government’s forms of working and less to issues connected to the way the Government is formed. The study also shows that some changes have occurred gradually while others have taken the form of departures. Thus, changes in the Government’s working forms have foremost occurred during the last decade. Regarding changes in forming the Government, the departures took place earlier. It is concluded that the changes can be explained both by short-term contingent factors, such as individual prime ministers’ leadership style, and more structural factors, especially the growing internationalisation and mediatisation of the state.