From majoritarian democracy to vertical separation of powers: Sweden and the European Union

The key problem in constitutional politics in the established democracies m ay be said to pertain to finding the right balance between majoritarian dem ocracy, constitutionalism and effective decision making. From that perspect ive this essay examines the Swedish polity before and after the accession t o the European Union in 1995. From 1917 onwards majoritarian democracy and parliamentarism were the praxis of the Swedish polity. But this mode of gov erment was not written into the 1809 Instrument of Government, which was ch aracterised by the separation of powers between the king and the parliament . It was first in the new Instrument of Government, adopted in 1973-74, tha t the praxis of majoritarian democracy and parliamentarism was codified. Bu t in the 1990s a new form of dualism was introduced into the Swedish polity as a result of the country's accession to the European Union. On the one h and, there is an Instrument of Government characterised by the principle of majoritarian democratic rule. On the other, accession to the EU involves a vertical separation of powers on a major scale. Two conflicting fundamenta l elements, majoritarian democracy and vertical separation of powers, are c urrently incorporated in the Swedish polity.