Winners of the Riksdag essay competition 2025
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Two winners, Lo Dahlquist Mörkenstam and Benjamin Petersson, have been selected in the Riksdag’s essay competition 2025. The winning essays are about ideological and affective polarisation within the political elite in Sweden, by Lo Dahlquist Mörkenstam and about the scope and limits of the Government’s governance of the public authorities, by Benjamin Petersson.
The Riksdag essay competition was established to promote knowledge and research about the Riksdag, and to highlight the importance of research and science. The competition is held every year and is open to students at Bachelor’s or Master’s level who have written an essay that is clearly related to the Riksdag.
“The winning essays highlight two central aspects of our democratic system. One clarifies the limits of the Government’s governance of the public authorities, a matter related to the parliamentary control functions. The other gives an insight into polarisation in politics, which affects the dialogue in the Riksdag. By drawing attention to these studies, we wish to increase understanding of how the Riksdag works and highlight challenges faced by our parliamentary system”, says the Speaker Andreas Norlén.
The contributions have been judged by a prize committee consisting, among others, of the Speaker and the three Deputy Speakers. Following a recommendation from the committee, the winners were announced by Secretary-General of the Riksdag Ingvar Mattson. Both winners will receive a diploma and a gift. An award ceremony and seminar will be held at the Riksdag to highlight the essays on 11 March 2026.
Insights into affective polarisation in politics
Lo Dahlquist Mörkenstam, Department of Political Science at Stockholm University, has written the essay “Democracy is an ideology of opposition – Affective polarization within the political elite in Sweden”.
From the prize committee’s citation: “The essay contributes new knowledge on a topical subject of importance for democracy. The choice of method and materials is commendable and gives depth by dealing with a topical issue from a historical perspective. The conclusions are presented with clarity and are related to previous research.
Highlights the limits of the Government’s governance of the public authorities
Benjamin Petersson, Faculty of Law at Lund University, has written the essay “Freedom in obedience – On the scope and limits of the Government’s governance of the public authorities”.
From the prize committee’s citation: The essay highlights a subject of great relevance to both the Riksdag and the Government, using sources connected with the work of the Riksdag such as the Committee on the Constitution’s scrutiny reports. The essay’s assessments are characterised in a commendable way by independence and openness in relation to previous literature.
About the essay competition
Essay competition for students
For more information
Thomas Larue, Head of the Evaluation and Research Secretariat, email: thomas.larue@riksdagen.se, telephone:
+46 (0)8 786 66 67
Petra Jankov, Press Secretary to the Speaker, email: petra.jankov@riksdagen.se, telephone: +46 (0)72 554 57 14