In many European countries, increasing political polarization, claims of self-governance and emancipation provide serious challenges for democratic governance. A critical question, in this respect, is how to develop consensus and confer legitimacy upon controversial government policies and complex challenges of today. In the literature, government commissions is sometimes claimed to be a valuable policymaking device to build political consensus that is both inclusive and legitimate. However, existing literature provide us with little empirical guidance on the extent to which government commissions fulfills such a role. This is particularly true with respect to the Swedish governmental commissions, which is a strangely understudied yet celebrated part of the Swedish policymaking process. In this study, we ask to what extent the Swedish governmental commissions (still) fulfill a role as a cater for consensus. Drawing on a unique database of all Swedish governmental commissions between 1990—2018 we analyze how the governmental commissions has evolved during the period with respect to number, type, representation and level of consensus. We conclude that although the governmental commissions have changed, the Swedish commission system still hold elements of vital importance to build consensus. Given a new and more complicated political landscape, we argue that commissions may be an important policy tool to overcome polarization and formulate overreaching and long-term policy goals.
