ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Traditional power card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 112 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaDemocracy & power
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Democracy & power

Traditional power

Kings, nobility, priests & witch doctors

The royal house, the church and other old authorities have shaped Sweden for a thousand years, but their formal power is today almost entirely dismantled: the king is head of state without political power, and the church was separated from the state in the year 2000. What remains is governed by the Riksdag through constitutional laws and budget allocations. The influence that is left is symbolic, and for that very reason hard to measure.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · cultural sites & places · approx 5 %
  • State · constitution, funding & scrutiny · approx 95 %

The public power that exists over the monarchy, religious communities and old institutions lies almost entirely with the Riksdag, which owns both the constitution and the purse.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe places & the heritage
The regionOutside the area
Central governmentConstitution & purse · centre of gravity
Who decides?
No formal role over the monarchy or the religious communities, but the municipality's planning meets the cultural heritage.
No formal role. Traditional power is not part of the region's remit.
The Riksdag, the Government, the Sami Parliament (Sametinget) and the Swedish National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet).
What do they decide?
Castles, church environments and Sami cultural sites are often protected in detailed development plans (detaljplan), and the municipality looks after the places around them.
No power over the area, but regional museums tell the story with support from the region's culture budget.
The Act of Succession is constitutional law, the court receives funding in the central government budget, the law governs the religious communities, and the Sami Parliament is both an agency and an elected body.
Where are decisions made?
In detailed development plans and comprehensive plans, which go out for consultation (samråd).
In the region's culture plan.
In the Riksdag, where both constitutional laws and funding are decided.
Who pays?
Municipal tax: upkeep of public environments around the cultural heritage.
Regional tax: museums and cultural heritage in the county.
The central government budget: the royal allowance, the care of cultural heritage and the Sami Parliament.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Respond to planning consultations when cultural sites are affected, get involved in the local heritage movement.
Regional election Comment on the region's culture plan, visit the county museum.
General election Vote, respond to referrals about the constitution and cultural heritage.
EUThe EU has no formal power over the monarchy or the religious communities. The form of government is each member country's own matter.

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 The court's money is decided every year
  1. State

    The constitution gives the role

    The Instrument of Government makes the king head of state without political power, and the Act of Succession sets out who inherits the role. Changing this requires two Riksdag decisions with an election in between.

    Point of influence

    Constitutional amendments always pass a general election. There your vote is part of the decision.

  2. State

    The Government proposes the allocation

    In the budget bill each autumn the Government proposes how much the court should receive, the royal allowance. It is one item among thousands in the central government budget.

  3. State

    The Riksdag decides

    The Riksdag decides on the central government budget, and members can submit motions about both the amount and the forms of the monarchy. The vote is public.

    Point of influence

    The general election decides who sits in the chamber, and the members' votes can be looked up afterwards.

  4. State

    The scrutiny follows the money

    Parts of the allocation are reported openly, and the Swedish National Audit Office (Riksrevisionen) can examine how it is used. The reports are official documents.

    Point of influence

    The National Audit Office's reports are free reading for everyone, and the media often build investigations on them.

  5. Municipality

    The heritage is in your municipality

    Castles, royal estates and church environments lie in someone's municipality, in the middle of detailed development plans and tourist flows. The municipality and the County Administrative Board (Länsstyrelsen) share the everyday work around the cultural heritage.

  6. Your everyday life

    The symbols in your everyday life

    The head of state cuts ribbons, the holidays follow old patterns and the coins carry a crowned head. The formal power lies somewhere else: with those you vote in.

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 traditional authorities still matter in your life, and why?

  2. What does symbolic power do to a society, even when it holds no formal decisions?

  3. How should a country relate to institutions that are older than its democracy?

  4. Who should get to decide the future of the monarchy, and in what forms?

  5. Why do some traditions last for centuries while others disappear?

Glossary

Statschef
The country's highest representative. In Sweden the king or queen, without political power.
Successionsordningen
The constitutional law that decides who inherits the throne.
Apanage
The annual allocation in the central government budget that the Riksdag decides for the court.
Trossamfund
Organised religious communities. The Church of Sweden has since the year 2000 been one community among others.
Sametinget
The Sami people's elected body, which is at the same time a state agency.

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.