Miljöpartiet de Gröna - Från antiparti till stödparti
MiljöpartietSwedish Green PartyStrategyParty changeSocial sciencesSamhällsvetenskaperPolitical and administrative sciencesStatsvetenskapFörvaltningskunskapSocial SciencesLaw and Political Science
The overall purpose with this thesis has been to study the strategic development of the Swedish Green Party, Miljöpartiet de Gröna. From its first appearance in the Swedish parliament 1988 to its decision to cooperate with the Social Democrats and the Left Party in 1998, the Greens has gone from a radical antiparty to a pragmatic support party. The analysis has concentrated towards identifying the causal factors behind this strategic move made by the Greens, and to determine how this party change has affected the party's strategic goals. In order to do so, a qualitative case study has been conducted where an integrated theoretical approach has been used. By studying official statements and internal debates the thesis concludes that the strategic change made by the Greens was due to the evolvement of a new dominant coalition of within the party. The evolvement was triggered by the external shock that the party suffered from by the election turnout in 1991. The change resulted in a goal change where the party decided to downplay the role of intra-party democracy and instead focus upon the strategic goal of parliamentary influence.