I brexits kölvatten : En deduktiv innehållsanalys av Sveriges strategiska agerande i Europeiska unionens råd

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of preference formation in the European Union. Thus, the study aims to answer the following research question: How were Sweden’s preferences in the Council of the EU affected by the British exit from the EU? The study tracked Swedish preferences within two policy areas: labor market policy, which is assessed to have high salience, and the common agricultural policy, which is assessed to have lower salience. The method used was a quasi-experimental design, comparing the stance of the Swedish government in the time periods before, during and after Brexit. The main finding of the study was that the content of Swedish preferences remained the same within both policy areas. However, the preferences for national competency over labor market regulation was stronger after Brexit than before. Based on these results, the paper reaches the conclusion that there is no evidence of Sweden adapting national preferences to a changed composition of preferences in the council. Even without support from a large state, Sweden maintains outlier positions in issues of both high and low salience. Hence, the study’s empirical findings confirm the understanding of preferences as stable and independent from a changing international setting.