10.1177/1081180X05284040 Press/Politics 11(1) Winter 2006Nord / S ill the Middle Way Still the Middle Way A Study of Political Communication Practices in Swedish Election Campaigns

This article focuses on the process of hybridization of political campaigns, using Swe-den as a case study,and raises three main research questions.First,how do global cam-paign practices influence the national campaign context in Sweden? Second,how does the Swedish political structure and political culture influence the adaptation of global trends in this area? Third,how can a possible hybridization of political campaigning be characterized in Sweden? The data in this study are mainly based on structured inter-views with party secretaries and campaign officials in all seven parties with seats in the Swedish Parliament. The results indicate that the hybridization of political communi-cation practices in Sweden is characterized by a growing use of global campaign prac-tices.Marketing tools are frequently used for opinion analyses,but there are substan-tial obstacles to a complete implementation of modern practices.To some extent this can be explained by existing laws and regulations but, above all, by public perceptions of parties, politics, and elections. Sweden is a country with a structural framework where global campaign features can be transformed to a large extent.However,a polit-ical culture more influenced by a national campaign context somewhat curtails this transformation process