Counter strategies or evasive maneuvers?

Swedish party organizations in the shadow of a negative membership trend

Abstract

Since 1979, political parties in Sweden have lost over 80 percent of their members. This paper analyzes the strategies of Swedish party organizations in response to this declining membership. It examines how leading party representatives perceive membership development, assesses the parties' adaptation to recruitment and aggregation functions in the face of declining membership, and explores variations in their responses to this decline. The paper reveals that membership recruitment isn't a top priority for any party, and there haven't been major radical changes in party organization to strengthen aggregation channels. All party representatives acknowledge the challenge of supplying future elected officials without advocating for significant organizational changes. Representatives from popular movement-based parties prioritize member-oriented solutions aligned with their tradition and identity, while non-people's movement-based parties are less committed to a large membership base and more open to alternative aggregation and recruitment channels.