Setting the Agenda in the Swedish Riksdag: Partisan Politics and Commissions of Inquiry, 1971-2021.

In this project, we use novel data from the Swedish government to study how political parties can establish control over the legislative agenda. We will investigate (1) how party strategic considerations can affect the initial organization of the legislative process and (2) how the initial organization of the legislative process can affect the contents of the legislative proposals that ultimately become law. We will assemble an original database that tracks the preparation, formulation, and confirmation of all government bills between 1971 and 2021 and analyze the materials using statistical methods. In addition to shedding new light on the internal operations of the Swedish government, the findings will have broad implications for theories of political delegation and legislative organization.