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Demokratiskolan
The International co-ops card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 44 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaSweden in the world
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Sweden in the world

International co-ops

Working with the UN, WTO & other orgs

The UN, the WTO, the World Health Organization, climate summits: a large part of politics is made in rooms where Sweden is one of many countries. What is negotiated there eventually becomes Swedish laws, rules and habits. The central government holds the pen, but the decisions land in your municipality (kommun), your health centre and your classroom.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · applies it in school & care · approx 5 %
  • Region · applies it in healthcare · approx 5 %
  • State · negotiates & ratifies · approx 65 %
  • EU · speaks for sweden in the wto · approx 25 %

The Government negotiates and the Riksdag ratifies, so the general election weighs heaviest. In trade matters the EU speaks for Sweden in the WTO, which makes the European Parliament election an important second.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityWhere it shows
The regionHealthcare's commitments
Central governmentThe negotiator · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige) and the committees, when international commitments are to become everyday practice.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige) and the health and medical care committee.
The Government negotiates, the Riksdag approves conventions and decides on the fees. Agencies take part in expert bodies.
What do they decide?
Applies what Sweden has promised: the Convention on the Rights of the Child in schools and social services, Agenda 2030 in local planning.
International health rules and conventions affect healthcare, from infection control to the rights of the child.
Sweden's membership in the UN system, the WTO and hundreds of other cooperations, and how the commitments are written into Swedish law.
Where are decisions made?
In committee decisions and municipal plans, often without the UN being mentioned.
In the region's guidelines and care programmes.
In the Government Offices, the Riksdag's committees and at negotiation meetings the world over.
Who pays?
The municipal tax pays for the application in school and care.
The regional tax.
The central government budget: membership fees and contributions to UN bodies and international funds.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Examine how your municipality lives up to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and raise the question through a council member.
Regional election The regional election steers how healthcare sets its priorities, including the international commitments.
General election The general election steers the line. Referrals (remiss) on new conventions are open to respond to.
EUIn the WTO and trade negotiations the European Commission speaks for all member states. Sweden has influence through the Council of Ministers, you through 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 A UN convention becomes Swedish everyday life: the Convention on the Rights of the Child
  1. State

    The negotiation: Sweden at the table

    Conventions are negotiated between the UN's member states, often over years of meetings. The Government's delegation pushes Swedish positions, shaped by ministries and agencies.

  2. State

    Signing and ratification

    The Government signs and the Riksdag approves. Sweden ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child as early as 1990, and it thereby became binding under international law.

    Point of influence

    Before the Riksdag decides, the question often goes out for referral (remiss). Organisations and even private individuals can respond.

  3. State

    The convention becomes law

    Thirty years later the Riksdag took the next step: the Convention on the Rights of the Child became Swedish law on 1 January 2020. Courts and agencies are now to apply it directly.

    Point of influence

    The general election decides which commitments Sweden takes on and how they are written into law.

  4. MunicipalityRegion

    Everyday life adjusts

    Schools, social services and healthcare now test their decisions against the best interests of the child. Municipalities train staff and change routines, regions review the care of children.

    Point of influence

    The municipal election and the regional election steer how much force the application gets. Civil society scrutinises and reports to the UN.

  5. Your everyday life

    A child gets to be heard

    When social services ask the child itself, or when a school weighs the best interests of the child in a decision, it is a UN negotiation from the 1980s at work in the room.

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 questions are best solved between countries, and which should stay in the Riksdag?

  2. The UN can rarely force anyone. What are cooperations like that worth when countries break the rules?

  3. How does the Convention on the Rights of the Child show up in your school, association or family?

  4. Sweden is a small country. Where do you think Swedish voices make the biggest difference internationally?

  5. Who should represent you in the world: the Government, the EU or both, and how do you keep track of what they say?

Glossary

Konvention
An international agreement between states, binding on the countries that ratify it.
Ratificera
The formal approval that makes an international agreement binding on Sweden, usually through the Riksdag.
Remiss
When a proposal is sent out so that agencies, organisations and individuals can have their say.
WTO
The World Trade Organization, where trade rules are negotiated and disputes between countries are settled.
Agenda 2030
The UN's common goals for sustainable development, which many municipalities use in their planning.

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.