Introduction

This edited volume discusses the emergence and development, and in some cases also the disappearance, of social movements and activism in the Swedish 1980s. The introductory chapter gives the background and aim of the volume and discusses why the Swedish case is interesting from a European perspective. The 1980s have often been described as a decade when the radical social movements of the 1960s and 1970s lost their influence in society and instead, right-wing politics and neoliberalism gained increasingly more impact in many parts of the world. However, this image needs to be problematized, since the decade encompassed a number of social movements that opposed the political development and protested against neoliberal and conservative politics. This introductory chapter discusses the historical background to the development in Sweden and argues that the ideas of a Swedish exceptionalism and development through consensus needs to be problematized. Contentious social movements have had an important role in democratization processes of Scandinavian societies. The chapter describes the right-wing wave that took place during the 1980s but also the many protests and resistance that occurred against it. It also discusses the importance of complex and multidimensional historiographies. This is followed by a section on political development during the 1980s, both internationally and in Sweden, and what new social movements emerged during the decade. After that, we describe key concepts and theories in research on social movements that some or all contributions engage with. Finally, the common thread in the anthology’s contributions and their main content is described.