Dimensionality of the European issue. : A qualitative analysis of ideas of the Left Party's and the Sweden Democrats' position shift in the EU issue in relation to Brexit.

UK's exit from the EU presented the European project with a new situation. However, fears that more member states would follow UK’s example were overcome by increased support for EU membership in Sweden. The Left Party and the Sweden Democrats have moved from wanting to leave the EU to accepting Swedish EU-membership. Previous research in this area has focused on how parties position themselves for or against European integration as an idea on the one hand and the EU as an institutionalization process of these ideas on the other hand. Little research has been done on how Eurosceptic counterparts in Europe react to exit, as the UK is the first country to leave the EU. The aim of this thesis is to analyze how the Swedish Left Party and the Sweden Democrats have changed their position on the EU issue in connection with Brexit and consider an ideological dimension. The qualitative research of election platforms results in three conclusions. First, both parties remain in their fundamental criticism of the EU but see Brexit as a new opportunity to reform the EU fundamentally. Secondly, the pause on demands for a Swedish withdrawal from the EU may be based on an ideological dividing line. Thirdly, the parties problematize the EU in a similar way but from different angles, which further strengthens an assumption about the importance of ideology in the study of Euroscepticism