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Demokratiskolan
The Power structures card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 64 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaDemocracy & power
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence2 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Democracy & power

Power structures

Formal & informal power ruling society

Who really decides: the person who holds the office, or the person who makes the call before the meeting? Formal power is written in the constitutional laws and the Local Government Act, informal power sits in networks, money and agendas. Public power over the structures themselves lies almost entirely with the central government, which writes the rules of the game for every other level.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · own organisation & committees · approx 25 %
  • Region · own organisation · approx 10 %
  • State · constitution, local-gov law & elections · approx 60 %
  • EU · treaties & EU law · approx 5 %

The central government owns the rules of the game for all formal power in Sweden. Informal power is not captured by any meter, but the forms are decided in the general election.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityClosest to everyday life
The regionThe middle level
Central governmentThe rule-writer · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige), the elected assembly of your municipality, the municipal executive board and the committees.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige), the regional executive board and the region's committees.
The Riksdag, the Government (the cabinet) and the constitutional laws. The courts interpret the rules.
What do they decide?
The municipality shapes its own organisation within the Local Government Act: which committees exist and who may decide by delegation.
The region decides its own organisation within the Local Government Act, with healthcare as its heaviest area of power.
The Instrument of Government, the Elections Act and the Local Government Act: the central government decides how power is won, exercised and controlled at every level.
Where are decisions made?
In the council, whose meetings are open to all, and in the committees' minutes.
In the regional council, open to the public and often broadcast online.
In the Riksdag, after government inquiries and open consultation rounds.
Who pays?
Municipal tax: the administration and the fees paid to elected representatives.
Regional tax: administration and fees.
The central government budget: the Riksdag, the Government, the courts and oversight.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Attend the council, read the minutes, get involved in a party or an association.
Regional election Follow the regional council, contact a regional commissioner, vote.
General election Respond to referrals, follow the committees' work, vote.
EUThe EU's treaties move some decision-making power to the union, and EU law takes precedence over Swedish law in the areas Sweden has handed over. Who manages that power is decided 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 A constitutional amendment takes two elections
  1. State

    An inquiry is appointed

    Larger changes to the rules of the game almost always begin in a government inquiry, often with all the Riksdag parties represented. The inquiry delivers a report with concrete proposals.

  2. State

    The proposal goes out for consultation

    The report is sent to agencies, municipalities and organisations, but anyone may respond. The referral responses become part of the basis for the decision.

    Point of influence

    Write your own referral response or back an organisation's. All responses are registered and public.

  3. State

    The Riksdag takes a first decision

    A constitutional amendment requires two identical Riksdag decisions with an election in between. So the first decision is only halfway there.

  4. StateYour everyday life

    A general election is held in between

    The idea is that voters should get to have their say before the constitution is changed. A third of the members can also demand that the change be put to a referendum at the same time as the election.

    Point of influence

    This is where your formal power is at its greatest: the election is the people's checkpoint between the two decisions.

  5. State

    The second decision makes the change law

    The newly elected Riksdag votes again. Only then does the new constitutional law take effect, and all other rules are adjusted to fit it.

  6. Your everyday life

    The rules of the game are built into the walls

    You rarely notice the constitution in everyday life, but it decides who gets to govern everything else: your school, your street, your medical record. The structures are invisible until someone tries to change them.

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. Who holds informal power where you live, and how does it show?

  2. Which decisions in your life are made by people no one elected?

  3. What do we gain and lose by making a constitutional amendment take at least four years?

  4. Where is the line between having good contacts and having too much power?

  5. If you could redraw the division of power between municipality, region and central government, what would you move?

Glossary

Formell makt
Power that follows from laws, elections and offices, and that can be held to account in open forms.
Informell makt
Influence through networks, money, knowledge or agendas, without a formal mandate.
Grundlag
The four laws that stand above all others and describe how Sweden is governed.
Betänkande
The final report from a government inquiry, with proposals that then go out for consultation.
Remiss
The open round where agencies, organisations and private individuals get to comment on a proposal.
Delegation
When the council or a committee hands the right to decide certain matters over to someone else.

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.