Vilka motiv ligger bakom den svenska regionreformen? : En idéanalys av vilka motiv som lyfts fram för att legitimera regionreformen där län ska bli regioner senast år 2023.

The aim of this study is to identify the political motives behind the aspiration of the Swedish government to transform 21 counties into 6-9 regions by the year 2023. Two regions were successfully formed in the late 1990’s, yet today little interest is shown by the rest of the country to follow in their footsteps. Despite this, the government shows persistence in its aim to create greater uniformity in how Sweden is geographically divided. A categorization of the motives will indicate whether the new regions will have an administrative, functional or cultural emphasis. The method is an analysis of ideas of two official reports of the Swedish government. By applying four dimensions as the analytical tool, I can conclude that the main motive is more efficiency in public administration. To some extent a demand for more regional democracy and better legal security also prompts the reform. The theoretical frame of the study consists of three types of regionalism. The analysis shows that a combination of region building and old regionalism explains the priorities that seem to shape more clear administrative and symmetrical regions