Sverigedemokraternas inverkan på den svenska immigrationspolitiken -­En jämförande studie av Sverigedemokraternas, Moderaternas och Socialdemokraternas immigrationspolitik

Sammanfattning: The Swedish Democrats have changed the political landscape in the Swedish Parliament since they came into parliament in 2010. No other party has yet to declare a coalition for government with them during election campaigns. Several of the other parties claim they will do everything they can do stop the Swedish Democrats from gaining influence over the Swedish political setting, due to their nationalistic and and racist character. Yet the other parties have emphasised their standpoints on immigration related issues during recent years. The aim of this thesis is to examine whether the Swedish Democrats have had an indirect influence over Swedish politics by influencing the immigration policies which the other parties set themselves, without collaborating with the Swedish Democrats. This thesis studies the period from 2006, before the Swedish Democrats came into parliament, until the election of 2018. The study focuses on the two largest parties in the Swedish parliament, the Social Democrats and the Moderate party. Theories suggest that large parties’ volatility to be influenced by smaller parties is dependent upon which political issues there are to dominate the political debate, possibilities for coalitions and elections results. These theories are partly confirmed, but also challenged by this study. Bonnie Meguids’ (2005) theory of party competition is used as a tool for analysis.