Beyond the political framing battles – Sweden in an international comparison
How good is Sweden really? Regardless of whether or not we are proud of our country, there are reasons to give some thought to what makes our country special, what is good, what is less good and what should be changed.
Futurion commissioned Professor Jesper Strömbäck to investigate and analyse how Sweden performs in various international comparisons. There is a large number of indexes that compare different countries. The international organisations that produce these ensure that all countries are compared in the same way. This makes it possible to see which countries are performing better than others, without taking a view on the politics of the different countries.
All in all, the report shows that Sweden is performing very well. Sweden is one of the freest, most democratic countries in the world. In comparison to other countries, we also have a good business climate and a labour market model that in many ways works well and facilitates growth and innovation. At the same time, the analysis shows that there are areas with potential for improvement.
We hope that the report will contribute to a more knowledge-based discussion about Sweden’s development and future challenges.
The report is written by Jesper Strömbäck, Professor of Journalism and Political Communication at the Department of Journalism, Media and Communication (JMG) at the University of Gothenburg. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Zurich and the University of Florida. In the years 2011-2013 he was secretary general and chief of staff at the government’s Future Commission.