Construction(s) of Swedish Family Policy, 1930-2000

Abstract

Family politics has been important in the development of the Swedish “women-friendly” and weak-breadwinner welfare state. This article analyzes the development of Swedish family politics during the past century by taking as its point of departure the amalgamation of political ambitions, social reforms, and ideas put forward by experts in government commissions. Results suggest that the social sciences played an important role in the making and shaping of Swedish family policy (i.e., that they functioned as “bridge discourses” mediating between the welfare state and social movements that challenged established boundaries between the private and the public sphere).