Feministiskt initiativ – ett nischparti i mängden?

Sammanfattning: This paper aims to research the dynamics of feminist niche parties in party competition. Employing a mixed-methods design the analysis focuses on the swedish part Feminist initiative (F!) and the dynamics of comepetition through which it affects the political agenda. Relying on party competition literature and an understanding of political competition on issue competition, the relation between mainstream party strategy and niche party success is examined in the case of F!. This is a particularly interesting case because of the rarity of feminist niche parties of which F! is one of the most successful ones. Because feminist niche parties, historically speaking, are quite novel, there is a big theory gap on their relation to party competition. The conclusions suggest however that party competition theory can account for F!:s effect on mainstream parties. We can observe that F!:s popularity gave rise to an accommodative reaction from mainstream parties, which in turn stumped their growth. These findings strengthen the appeal of the strategic model on which the essay is built and support the thesis that F! has affected the representation of women in Swedish politics.