Sweden and Children's Rights: A case study of Sweden's ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Abstract: In 1989, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The convention, whose purpose is to ensure and protect children’s rights globally, was later ratified by Sweden 1990. Thereby, the country committed itself to legally follow the articles of the convention. By conducting a descriptive case study analysis of the CRC, this text aims to investigate why Sweden ratified in the convention. The analysis relies on a social constructivist tradition in the study of International Relations and adopts a framework of norm, role and identity. By applying the three factors separately, the analysis describes Sweden’s ratification of the CRC as a result of normative aspirations and foreign policy tradition of supporting human rights (norm); expected behaviour of a middle power in international relations (role) and status seeking with respect to group dynamics (identity). These results are presented when examining previous academic literature, official documents from the UN and the Swedish parliament as well as statements from policymakers. Following these results, I argue the three factors should be considered as complementary perspectives in the investigation of why Sweden ratify international treaties.