Creating Social Democracy: A Century of the Social Democratic Labor Party in Sweden

by Karl Molin (Editor), Klas Amark, Klaus Misgeld

The Swedish Social Democratic Labor Party (SAP) was founded more than one hundred years ago, in April 1889. During this "century of social democracy" Sweden has been transformed from an agrarian to an industrial society, from a poor country to a welfare state; and the SAP has evolved from being a lower-class movement to the nation's leading party for more than half a century. Is Sweden's development so special and is the Swedish labor movement unique when viewed from an international perspective? When were the critical decisions taken, what did the Social Democrats want to achieve, and what have they actually succeeded in doing—especially in light of the Social Democrats' loss of governmental power in 1991? These questions are discussed in thirteen essays addressing economic policy, social and welfare policy, international policy, and the party's inner structure and ideology. Two additional chapters on historical background and the latest developments in Sweden and some tables make this volume valuable for readers wanting competent information about Sweden, about the development of Swedish society, and about the most successful Social Democratic Labor party in Europe.

Genres: History, Sweden, Politics, Nonfiction

548 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Natan Bedrosian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Klaus Misgeld, Karl Molin, and Klas Åmark's edited volume, Creating Social Democracy: A Century of the Social Democratic Labor Party in Sweden, is an excellent and in-depth introductory work on the history of the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party throughout the twentieth century.

The book's chapters cover nearly all major areas of social democratic policymaking, including the economy, social welfare, housing, foreign policy, and defence. More importantly, the authors trace the chronological development of each policy area, and I particularly appreciated their constructive approach to analysing why certain policies were adopted by considering the domestic and international political context alongside the prevailing economic climate.

What interested me most was the final chapter, The Role of Ideology in Social Democratic Politics. On page 425, the author, referring to immigration policy, writes: "This inclusive, integrationist approach flows naturally from Social Democratic values; it has not been entirely successful..." I appreciated the authors' willingness to acknowledge that this immigration policy has not been entirely successful. Based on the book's balanced and thoughtful analysis, I believe the authors would appreciate today's Social Democratic leader, Magdalena Andersson, for her more assertive integrationist stance on immigration. Her criticism of insular immigrant enclaves, and her willingness to explicitly describe them as parallellsamhället ("parallel society" in Swedish), has helped position the Swedish Social Democrats as both credible on immigration and capable of seriously challenging the far right's long-standing monopolisation of the issue.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

A dishonest hagiography written by governmental bureaucrats from the ”researcher” caste. And like the stories of antiquity, industrialization, higher living standard, all are related to the party sent from the heavens. Probably in the next volume the brown nose ”researchers” will find out how the party has sliced bread so the Spanish could make tapas a century later.