The Swedish response to the COVID-19 pandemic

The challenges that the COVID-19-pandemic have meant to the Swedish public administration is not unique. However, the path of less restrictive measures to curb the spread of infection have resulted in an agitated debate domestically, and also attracted international attention. At the center of this debate is the significance of the Swedish administrative model which holds an organizational divide between government ministries and central government agencies, and which also prohibits ministerial rule. The aim of this paper is to explore whether the comparatively high degree of independence of Swedish government agencies has given the Swedish Public Health Agency too much room for maneuver. This addresses the fundamental question of the boundaries between politics and expert knowledge. Moreover, the (lack of) reach of the Swedish government in a highly decentralized unitary state – where health care and elderly care is the responsibility of the regional and the local level – will also be addressed.