För integrationens skull? Frågan om rösträtt för invandrare utan svenskt medborgarskap under efterkrigstiden

In 1975, Sweden extended voting rights in local elections to
immigrants without Swedish citizenship (resident aliens). In this
article, I show that the arguments behind the reform were based on a wish to speed up the integration of immigrants ratherthan normative ideas about the nature of democracy. The reform was in fact seen as part of the emerging Swedish
integration policy. Almost a decade later, the government tried to extend voting rights forresident aliens to national elections as well, while at the same time limiting voting rights for citizens living abroad (non-resident citizens). The initiative failed, partly because of the fact that integration was seen as a local political responsibility. Therefore, it was impossible to frame national voting rights for resident aliens as a way to facilitate integration. These domestic political factors, rather than philosophical arguments, shaped the outcome of the reforms on the voting rights of resident aliens.