The Social Democrats have moved considerably closer to the centre of the spectrum since the 1990s, reflecting the general trend in other European countries. At the same time, the Swedish political map stands apart from that of other countries in that the Social Democracy occupied a hegemonic position for decades, not only politically, but also discursively, thereby nudging the "centre" in a Social Democratic direction then and now more than has been the case in Germany. Before the 2014 elections, the SAP set itself apart by a somewhat more pointed focus on distribution issues and traditional social democratic social and labour market policy. It can therefore be located left of the centre even if, for example, a relatively strict budget policy constrains possibilities for government intervention and, as a result, the party has departed considerably from its own positioning well into the 1990s. The Swedish Left Party (Vänsterpartiet) can be placed to the left of the Social Democrats, with a platform calling for greater public investment, for instance, and a 30-hour working week. It is also the Left Party that objects most vociferously to profits being allowed in the private welfare sector (nursing care, education), while the Social Democrats and Greens are merely in favour of a cap on profits (in Sweden, for-profit companies also manage nursing care institutions and schools). The Greens have positioned themselves left of centre since the 1990s in the areas of economic, labour and social policy. Nevertheless, the Greens occupy an area ranging from left of the Social Democrats with their call for a 30-hour-working week and a ban on profits in the welfare sector (in Sweden, profit-oriented enterprises can operate publically funded social and educational facilities) all the way to the right of the Social Democrats with their advocacy of a "green service society" featuring subsidised employment and tax breaks on employers' taxes and private services.

In the 2010 election, the right-wing populist party "Sweden Democrats" succeeded in pulling into the Swedish Parliament, the Riksdag, for the first time. In addition to focusing on a tightening of migration policy and nationalistic domestic and foreign policy revolving around the "problem" of immigration, the Sweden Democrats posed for a long time as the true social democrats, advocating a strong welfare state for Sweden. After the Sweden Democrats emerged as the third-largest force in the Riksdag in the 2014 elections, the party aligned with the Social Democrats, Greens and the Left in calling for a capping of profits in the social sector and introduction of mandatory collective agreements for public tenders. The party performed a volte face on both issues within the period of one year, thereby moving it closer to the economic, labour and social policies of the centre-right parties. The Sweden Democrats have thus positioned themselves much further in the direction of "free market" in 2016.

Libertarian vs. authoritarian

As a result of the emphasis placed on positions critical of immigration and the effort to influence the focus of the political debate in the direction of identity and values, the axis of conflict between libertarian (emancipation, feminism, liberal values, multiculturalism, etc.) and authoritarian (nationalism, tradition) has become increasingly crucial to an understanding of Swedish party politics. The Feminist Initiative, which has also gained sentiment, is placed on this axis as well. With a pronounced inter-sectional approach to issues relating to feminism and identity policy, this party was a serious contender to the Greens and Left Party in the 2014 elections. Although the party is headed by the former chairman of the Left Party, Gudrun Schyman, and exhibits more of a pro-redistribution/leftist profile, the crucial factor is the staking out of its own position as a feminist, anti-racist alternative, essentially based on an inter-sectional analysis of social structures. A clear view of society being based on class cleavages, as epitomises the approach of the Left Party, is lacking with the feminist initiative.

As has already been mentioned, the Feminist Initiative and the Sweden Democrats can be positioned at the extreme end of the libertarian-authoritarian-conflict axis: the Feminist Initiative by virtue of its emphasis on a value- and identity-based policy with regard to feminism, anti-racism and liberalism when issues involve sexuality and immigration, the Sweden Democrats through a clear dissociation from liberalism and the party's focus on traditional family and gender images, nationalism and anti-immigration attitudes. The Left Party has moved further along this conflict line in the direction of libertarian over the last few years, attempting to set itself apart in a targeted manner with decidedly feminist ideals and anti-racist positions, while attempting to make this part and parcel of its own political development. Here the Left Party and the Greens are roughly at the same level and see eye to eye on most issues. Nonetheless, the Left Party spans a somewhat broader spectrum internally, constrained at the bottom above all by its EU-critical wing. The Social Democrats have also moved in a libertarian direction, but still constitute the "most traditional party" left of centre, especially regarding the issues of regulated immigration and national self-determination on labour market issues.

To the right of centre, the party spectrum is delimited on the one hand at the bottom by the Sweden Democrats and on the top by the Centre Party. The Centre Party has not only liberalised in terms of economic policy - it has increasingly sharpened its profile as a liberal centre-right alternative as far as values and identity policy. This was still less salient into the early 2000s. When asylum legislation was tightened in 2016, for example, the Centre Party set itself apart from its centre-right partners - and also from the governing Social Democrats and Greens - by rejecting it. The Liberals are traditionally more libertarian when it comes to values and identity. In connection with an increasingly critical debate over immigration, the Liberals are also more and more seeking to boost their profile by demanding language tests and beefing up police presence, however, in this respect drawing a line between themselves and the Centre Party. The most interesting development with regard to the "new" conflict axis is to be witnessed among the Moderates and Christian Democrats, as both parties made a clear-cut move towards the authoritarian pole with a leadership change in 2014. The conservative wing took over the leadership of the Christian Democrats in the person of Ebba Busch Thor, above all reflecting a new focus on tightening of asylum legislation and domestic security policy. The youth organisation of the Christian Democrats furthermore called for indirect or direct cooperation with the Sweden Democrats following the next elections in 2018 as well. While the Moderate Party under the chairmanship of Fredrik Reinfeldt still advocated a liberal asylum and migration policy and in the summer of 2014 called upon Swedes to "open their hearts" to refugees and people fleeing their homes, the tone and political focus under the new party chairwoman, Anna Kinberg Batra, has become more vitriolic: together with the Christian Democrats they were the first to call among other things for a reversal of the norm of unlimited residency permits - which was then carried out in the new 2016 asylum laws. An increasing number of voices in this party are also advocating cooperation - directly or indirectly - with the Sweden Democrats as the only way to gain government power once again. At the same time, the Moderates cover a broader range of spectrum in the libertarian direction than is the case with the Christian Democrats.

Thus, the political map of Sweden has changed significantly over the last few years, not least as a result of the Sweden Democrats gaining seats in the Riksdag in 2010 and the growing importance of migration and asylum policy in the political debate.