Politisk kommunikation vid kris : En kvalitativ innehållsanalys av svenska statsministrars tal till nationen

Sammanfattning: Sweden has seen an increase in the use of “speech to the nation” by the recent Prime ministers. It is a type of speech reserved for major crises and since 1974 just six have been held, four of them since 2020. By using a theoretical framework from the framing part of crisis management literature, this paper examines what kind of communication tool “speech to the nation” is. The analysis concludes that the speeches typically seek to acknowledge the severity of the crisis, highlight exogenous causes, and present incremental policy changes which defends status quo. In line with contemporary research about political communication, the speeches have developed into more politicized speeches with more serious descriptions of the crises and with more severe policy-reforms presented. The thesis contributes to the literature about political communication by giving an overview and analysis of every prime ministerial speech to the nation in Sweden since 1974.