ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Government card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 101 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaThe state & public administration
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
The state & public administration

Government

Cabinet, ministries, agencies & public servants

The state is not one single thing: it is the Government and the ministries that govern, a few hundred agencies that decide and all the civil servants you meet in everyday life. The Swedish model is unusual: small ministries, independent agencies and a ban on ministers interfering in individual cases. That makes the administration hard to govern from the top, for better and worse.

Where does the power lie?1

  • State · government, ministries & agencies · approx 80 %
  • EU · eu law governs the administration · approx 20 %

The power over central government administration lies with the Government and the Riksdag, but a growing share of the rules the agencies apply comes from the EU.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityOutside, but close
The regionOutside, but examined
Central governmentThe machinery · centre of gravity
Who decides?
No formal power over the state. Municipalities are political levels of their own with constitutionally protected self-government.
No formal power over the state. Regions are elected levels of their own.
The Government and the Government Offices' (Regeringskansliet) ministries govern. The agencies, from the Tax Agency to SMHI, carry out.
What do they decide?
Often carries out what the Riksdag has decided, such as the Education Act, but does not govern the agencies.
Follow the state's laws in healthcare and are examined by state inspectorates such as IVO.
The ministries prepare policy and rules. The agencies decide independently in individual cases.
Where are decisions made?
The encounter with the state happens through public consultation (samråd), referrals (remiss) and negotiations via SKR.
In dialogue and negotiation between the regions and the state.
Appropriation directives, instructions and appointments are public, as are almost all documents.
Who pays?
Nothing of central government administration. The state instead pays state grants to the municipalities.
Nothing of central government administration.
The central government budget.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election No direct way: the state's governance is shaped via the general election and referrals (remiss).
Regional election No direct way: the regions' influence runs via public consultation (samråd) and referrals (remiss).
General election Vote, respond to referrals (remiss), request documents, file a complaint with the Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO).
EUA large share of the rules Swedish agencies apply originate in EU decisions. Shaped in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case From election promise to a decision in your case
  1. State

    The election gives a government

    After the general election the Speaker tests who can form a government, and the Riksdag votes. The Government governs the realm, but under the laws and with the Riksdag's confidence.

    Point of influence

    The general election every four years is the big steering wheel. Everything below it depends on it.

  2. State

    The policy is inquired into and sent for referral

    Larger changes are first inquired into, often in a government commission of inquiry. The proposals are then sent for referral (remiss) to agencies, organisations and others concerned.

    Point of influence

    The referral system is open: private individuals can also send a referral response (remissvar), and all responses become public.

  3. State

    The ministries govern the agencies

    The Government governs through instructions, annual appropriation directives with targets and money, and by appointing directors-general. But not in individual cases: ministerial rule is forbidden.

  4. State

    The civil servant decides in your case

    The caseworker follows the law and the Administrative Procedure Act: impartiality, written reasons, the right to appeal. Your case is decided by rules, not by whoever happens to be minister.

    Point of influence

    You can request the documents in your case, appeal the decision and file a JO complaint about poor handling.

  5. State

    The scrutineers check the power

    The Parliamentary Ombudsman (JO) examines the agencies' conduct, the Swedish National Audit Office their efficiency and the Committee on the Constitution the Government's governance. The principle of public access to official documents (offentlighetsprincipen) gives media and citizens insight into almost everything.

  6. Your everyday life

    A decision in your hand

    The notice you receive is the end of a chain that began in a ballot box and ran via ministries, appropriation directives and an individual civil servant's assessment according to the law.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which agencies have you been in contact with in the past year, and how did it go?

  2. Are independent agencies a strength or a problem when elected officials cannot intervene in individual decisions?

  3. How open should it be when directors-general are appointed, and what would that change?

  4. What would you request with the principle of public access to official documents if you got help to do it tomorrow?

  5. Where do you have the most trust: in the politicians, the agencies or the courts, and why?

Glossary

Regeringskansliet
The Government's own agency, where the ministries prepare policy and govern the administration.
Myndighet
An independent part of the state that applies laws and makes decisions in individual cases.
Ministerstyre
When a minister tries to steer an individual agency decision, which is forbidden in Sweden.
Regleringsbrev
The Government's annual governing document to each agency: targets, mandate and money.
Offentlighetsprincipen
Your constitutionally protected right to read the agencies' documents, dating back to 1766.
SOU
Statens offentliga utredningar, the major commissions of inquiry that often precede new legislation.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.