Sweden and Covid-19: what shaped the Swedish approach? : a content analytical case study of Sweden’s potential transition from social engineering to advanced liberalism

Abstract: The overall aim of this thesis was to examine the Swedish approach to managing the Covid- 19 pandemic, by putting it in context to recent Swedish socio-economic and demographic development. The research question reads “to what extent does the public discussion on the Covid-19 pandemic build on elements associated with advanced liberalism?”, which has been examined by the aid of a qualitative content analysis on public rhetoric used by Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, The Public Health Agency of Sweden, and speeches by the Swedish king as well as the top-political figures in Sweden. The analyzed rhetoric has been put in relation to recent Swedish development; in particular the country’s history of social democratic social engineering and advanced liberalism, as well as the implications they have had on public health. The results generated from the content analysis showed a large emphasis on terms associable with advanced liberalism, which could potentially pose a threat to already diminishing health inequalities in Sweden. Though further research is undoubtedly needed for asserting a causal connection, this thesis indicates the presence of advanced liberalism, whose entry to the Swedish context could have been aided by the social democratic social engineering that preceded it.