Ideologiska skillnader mellan socialdemokraterna och moderaterna : En idéanalys av olika politiska sakfrågor

ABSTRACT Essay in political science, C-level by Cecilia Holmberg Spring semester 2006, Tutor: Arne Larsson - Ideological similarities between the Swedish Socialdemocratic and the Swedish conservative party - An idealanalysis of different political issues The purpose of this essay is to examine wheater the political ideologies have lost their importance in the Swedish political system. The study will focus on the ideological similarities or differences between the two largest parties in Sweden, the socialdemocratic and the conservative party. Therefore, the main research question is: Are there any ideological similarities or differences between the socialdemocratic and the conservative party? To be able to answer this question, I have used Herbert Tingsten’s idealanalysis. This type of analysis examines how someone, in this case a political party, describes reality. The analysis also examines what the different parties’ values and goals are and what actions they recommend to achieve that particular value and goal. This will grant a good perspective of the two parties opinons in different issues. The reason why I have choosen different issues instead of different programs, are that the issues are more concrete and therefore easier to examine. They are also recommended by Tingsten, he means that the parties have the same values and goals, there are only in the actions that there is a difference between the parties. These differences are easier differentiated when the actions are studied in the issues. The issues that this essay is going to explore are labour-market, education, treatment and criminality. The conclusion of this essay is that there are ideological similarities between the socialdemocratic and the conservative party in these issues. It seems that both the socialdemocratic and the conservative party have similar goals and values. However, they recommend different actions to acchieve these goals and values