View source for Sweden Democrats

{{Short description|Political party in Sweden}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Sweden Democrats
| native_name      = {{lang|sv|Sverigedemokraterna|italic=no}}
| logo             = Sweden Democrats logo and initials.svg{{!}}class=skin-invert
| logo_size        = 200
| colorcode        = {{Political party data|color}}
| chairperson      = [[Jimmie Åkesson]]
| abbreviation     = SD
| ideology         = {{ubl|class=nowrap
 |[[National conservatism]]
 |[[Right-wing populism]]
 |[[Euroscepticism]]
}}
| headquarters     = [[Riksdag]], 100 12 [[Stockholm]]
| website          = {{Political party data|website}}
| country          = Sweden
| leader1_title    = [[Party secretary]]
| leader1_name     = [[Mattias Bäckström Johansson]]
| leader2_title    = [[Deputy leader|First deputy chair]]
| leader2_name     = [[Henrik Vinge]]
| leader3_title    = [[Deputy leader|Second deputy chair]]
| leader3_name     = [[Julia Kronlid]]
| leader4_title    = [[Parliamentary group leader]]
| leader4_name     = [[Linda Lindberg]]
| leader5_title    = [[European Parliament]] leader
| leader5_name     = [[Charlie Weimers]]
| founded          = {{start date and age|1988|2|6|df=yes}}
| predecessor      = [[Sweden Party]]
| newspaper        = {{lang|sv|SD-Kuriren|italic=yes}}
| womens_wing      = [[SD-Women]]
| youth_wing       = {{plainlist}}
* [[Young Swedes SDU]]<br />(since 2015)
* {{Nowrap|[[Sweden Democratic Youth]]}}<br />(1998–2015)
{{endplainlist}}
| membership_year  = 2023
| membership       = {{decrease}} 30,426<ref>{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2024-10-13 |title=Medlemsras för Liberalerna – störst tapp bland riksdagspartierna |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/medlemsras-for-liberalerna-storst-tapp-bland-riksdagspartierna |access-date=2024-10-13 |work=SVT Nyheter |language=sv}}</ref>
| position         = [[Right-wing politics|Right-wing]] to [[Far-right politics|far-right]]
| affiliation1_title = Nordic affiliation
| affiliation1     = [[NordNat]] (1997–1999)<br>[[Nordic Freedom]] (since 2012)
| european         = [[Euronat]] (1997–1999)<br>[[Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe|ADDE]] (2014–2017)<br>[[European Conservatives and Reformists Party|ECR Party]] (since 2018)
| europarl         = [[Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy|EFDD]] (2014–2018)<br>[[European Conservatives and Reformists Group|ECR Group]] (since 2018)
<!-- Values obtained from Wikidata; to edit, see https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q504069 -->| seats1_title     = [[Riksdag]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Ledamöter & partier |url=https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/ledamoter-och-partier/partierna/sverigedemokraterna/ |website=Sveriges Riksdag |date=10 March 2024}}</ref>
| seats1           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|ms-lower-house}}
| seats2_title     = [[European Parliament]]
| seats2           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|ep}}
| seats3_title     = [[County councils of Sweden|County Councils]]<ref name="mandat2022"/>
| seats3           = {{Composition bar|275|1720|{{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| seats4_title     = [[Municipal council (Sweden)|Municipal Councils]]<ref name="mandat2022">{{cite web|url=https://www.val.se/valresultat/riksdag-region-och-kommun/2022/radata-och-statistik.html#mandatfordelning|language=sv|website=Valmyndigheten|date=8 March 2024|access-date=2024-03-08|title=Rådata och statistik|archive-date=11 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311071759/https://www.val.se/valresultat/riksdag-region-och-kommun/2022/radata-och-statistik.html#mandatfordelning|url-status=live}}</ref>
| seats4           = {{Composition bar|2091|12614|{{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| colours          = {{ubl|{{color box|{{party color|Sweden Democrats}}|border=darkgray}} Yellow|{{color box|#00BFFF|border=darkgray}} Light blue|{{color box|#3d3687|border=darkgray}} Bluish purple}}
| wing1            = {{ill|Riks|sv}}<ref name="ISTroll">{{Cite news|url=https://www.is.fi/ulkomaat/art-2000010412279.html|last=Juonala|first=Jouko|title=Ruotsidemokraattien "trollitehtaasta" nousi kohu – näin kommentoi puoluejohtaja Jimmie Åkesson|publisher=Ilta-Sanomat|date=8 May 2024|language=fi|access-date=9 May 2024|archive-date=9 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509023541/https://www.is.fi/ulkomaat/art-2000010412279.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="TrollFabrikTV4">{{Cite news|url=https://www.tv4.se/artikel/2VCWExxK0L1Xmai2Y60Z2/kalla-fakta-avsloejar-sd-driver-en-trollfabrik|title=Här avslöjas SD:s trollfabrik – reportern jobbade undercover|publisher=TV4|date=7 May 2024|language=sv|access-date=9 May 2024|archive-date=9 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509055849/https://www.tv4.se/artikel/2VCWExxK0L1Xmai2Y60Z2/kalla-fakta-avsloejar-sd-driver-en-trollfabrik|url-status=live}}</ref>
| wing1_title      = Media wing
}}

The '''Sweden Democrats''' ({{langx |sv|Sverigedemokraterna}} {{IPA|sv|ˈsvæ̂rjɛdɛmʊˌkrɑːtɛɳa||Sv-Sverigedemokraterna.ogg}}, '''SD''' {{IPA|sv|ˈɛ̂sːdeː||Sv-S.D.ogg}}) is a [[Nationalism|nationalist]]<ref name="StarkeKaasch2013"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats celebrate election gains |url=https://www.ft.com/content/ed8e683a-f65e-4848-b83f-a65883f75db9 |url-access=subscription |work=Financial Times |date=12 September 2022 |access-date=13 September 2022 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/ed8e683a-f65e-4848-b83f-a65883f75db9 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Right-wing populism|right-wing populist]]<ref name="Rydgren"/><ref name="2013Berezin255">{{citation |last=Berezin |first=Mabel |title=The Normalization of the Right in Post-Security Europe |work=Politics in the Age of Austerity |publisher=Polity Press |year=2013 |page=255}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Swedish voters boost anti-immigration party amid high crime |url=https://apnews.com/article/elections-stockholm-sweden-government-and-politics-9a061363b01b3bc53158f49e06edc0b1 |work=AP NEWS |date=12 September 2022 |language=en |access-date=25 November 2022 |archive-date=11 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240811122150/https://apnews.com/article/elections-stockholm-sweden-government-and-politics-9a061363b01b3bc53158f49e06edc0b1 |url-status=live }}</ref> political party in [[Sweden]] founded in 1988.<ref name="StarkeKaasch2013" /><ref name="Rydgren" /><ref name="2013Berezin255" /> As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] bloc and the second-largest party in the [[Riksdag]]. It provides [[confidence and supply]] to the right-wing ruling coalition.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 September 2022 |title=Right-wing bloc wins narrow majority in Swedish parliament |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/right-wing-bloc-wins-narrow-majority-in-swedish-parliament |access-date=20 September 2022 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us |archive-date=19 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919132106/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/right-wing-bloc-wins-narrow-majority-in-swedish-parliament |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-government-far-right-alliance-ulf-kristersson-euroskeptic-migration-climate-eu/ |title=Swedish government tested by far-right alliance |author=Charlie Duxbury |newspaper=Politico Europe |date=July 14, 2023 |access-date=23 May 2024 |archive-date=7 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807170944/https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-government-far-right-alliance-ulf-kristersson-euroskeptic-migration-climate-eu/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Within the [[European Union]], the party is a member of the [[European Conservatives and Reformists Party]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ecrgroup.eu/ecr-group-approves-two-new-members-peter-lundgren-and-kristina-winberg/|title=ECR Group – European Conservatives and Reformists Group|last=Reformists|first=European Conservatives and|website=Ecrgroup.eu|language=en-US|access-date=4 July 2018|archive-date=3 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703221036/http://ecrgroup.eu/ecr-group-approves-two-new-members-peter-lundgren-and-kristina-winberg/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Independent2">{{cite news |last=Stone |first=Jon |date=4 July 2018 |title=Conservatives enter alliance with Swedish far-right in European Parliament |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/conservatives-sweden-democrats-european-parliament-far-right-reformist-group-a8430281.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/conservatives-sweden-democrats-european-parliament-far-right-reformist-group-a8430281.html |archive-date=26 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=[[The Independent]] |location=London}}</ref>

The party describes itself as [[Social conservatism|social conservative]] with a nationalist foundation.<ref name="svd">{{cite news |language = sv |url = http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/partiledningen-vann-strid-om-principprogrammet_6665934.svd |title = Partiledningen vann strid om principprogrammet |newspaper = Svenska Dagbladet |date = 26 November 2011 |access-date = 26 November 2011 |archive-date = 28 November 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111128054834/http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/partiledningen-vann-strid-om-principprogrammet_6665934.svd |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="party platform">{{cite web|language=sv |place=SE |url=http://sverigedemokraterna.se/var-politik/principprogram/ |title=Principprogram |date=2011 |publisher=Sverigedemokraterna |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625090942/http://sverigedemokraterna.se/var-politik/principprogram/ |archive-date=25 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Aronson |first1=Olov |title=Victimhood in Swedish political discourse |journal=Discourse & Society |date=May 2021 |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=292–306 |doi=10.1177/0957926520977216|s2cid=230525615 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The party has also been variously characterised by universities, political commentators, and international media as [[Economic nationalism|economic nationalist]],<ref>Vandenburg, A. (2014). "Far right in Europe's far north" (PDF). Deakin University: 2. Arkiveret fra originalen (PDF) 25. september 2017. Hentet 11. september 2018.</ref> [[National conservatism|national-conservative]],<ref name="Rydgren" /><ref name="StarkeKaasch2013">{{cite book|author1=Peter Starke|author2=Alexandra Kaasch|author3=Franca Van Hooren|title=The Welfare State as Crisis Manager: Explaining the Diversity of Policy Responses to Economic Crisis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BtMQsESYcWwC&pg=PA194|year=2013|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-137-31484-0|page=194|access-date=5 March 2016}}</ref> [[Opposition to immigration|anti-immigration]],{{refn|<ref name="Rydgren" /><ref name="Independent">{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Ben |title=Sweden Democrats: How a nationalist, anti-immigrant party took root in a liberal Nordic haven |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/sweden-democrats-election-results-nationalist-populist-party-anti-immigrant-refugees-a8515576.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |work=[[The Independent]] |location=London |date=8 September 2018 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/sweden-democrats-election-results-nationalist-populist-party-anti-immigrant-refugees-a8515576.html |archive-date=26 May 2022}}</ref><ref>*{{Citation |first=Diane |last=Sainsbury |title=Welfare States and Immigrant Rights: The Politics of Inclusion and Exclusion |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |pages=226–27}}
*{{Citation |first=Anton |last=Pelinka |author-link=Anton Pelinka |title=Right-wing Populism: Concept and Typology | work =Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2013 |page=14}}
*{{Citation |first=Kristina |last=Tolinsson Ting |title=Sweden: Social Solitariness |work=European National Identities: Elements, Transitions, Conflicts |publisher=Transaction |year=2014 |page=246}}
*{{Citation |first=Henning |last=Finseraas |title=Anti-immigration attitudes, support for redistribution and party choice in Europe |work=Changing Social Equality: The Nordic Welfare Model in the 21st Century |publisher=Policy Press |year=2012 |page= 23}}</ref>}} [[Islamophobia|anti-Islam]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Tomson |first=Danielle Lee |date=25 March 2020 |title=The Rise of Sweden Democrats: Islam, Populism and the End of Swedish Exceptionalism |url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-rise-of-sweden-democrats-and-the-end-of-swedish-exceptionalism/ |access-date=10 February 2022 |website=Brookings |language=en-US |archive-date=27 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327042822/https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-rise-of-sweden-democrats-and-the-end-of-swedish-exceptionalism/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Anti-gender movement in Sweden|anti-gender]],<ref name="Karlberg"/> [[Euroscepticism|Eurosceptic]],{{refn|<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20190201/sweden-democrats-drop-their-call-for-swexit-referendum-on-leaving-eu/ |title=Sweden Democrats drop their call for 'Swexit' referendum on leaving EU |newspaper=The Local Sweden |date=February 2019 |access-date=14 June 2022 |archive-date=18 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518063615/https://www.thelocal.se/20190201/sweden-democrats-drop-their-call-for-swexit-referendum-on-leaving-eu/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=1 February 2019|title=Sweden Democrats drop their call for 'Swexit' referendum on leaving EU|url=https://www.thelocal.se/20190201/sweden-democrats-drop-their-call-for-swexit-referendum-on-leaving-eu/|access-date=1 February 2022|website=The Local Sweden|language=en-US|archive-date=1 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201192635/https://www.thelocal.se/20190201/sweden-democrats-drop-their-call-for-swexit-referendum-on-leaving-eu/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Reuters">{{cite news |title=Populist Sweden Democrats ditch 'Swexit' ahead of EU elections |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-sweden-politics-eu-idUKKCN1PV28Q |publisher=Reuters |date=6 February 2019 |access-date=1 February 2022 |archive-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201192635/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-sweden-politics-eu-idUKKCN1PV28Q |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=16 May 2019|title=Strong support for the EU in Sweden ahead of European elections|url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/strong-support-for-the-eu-in-sweden-ahead-of-european-elections/|access-date=1 February 2022|website=Atlantic Council|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Taub |first1=Amanda |title=Sweden's Far Right Just Made History. Is It the Country's Future? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/world/europe/sweden-elections-right.html |work=The New York Times |date=14 September 2022 |access-date=25 November 2022 |archive-date=25 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125171324/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/world/europe/sweden-elections-right.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}} and [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]]<ref name="Toemmel2014"/> or [[Far-right politics|far-right]].<ref name="Independent2" /><ref>*{{Citation |first=William M. |last=Downs |title=Political Extremism in Democracies: Combating Intolerance |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2012 |pages=33, 149}}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/14/sweden-democrats-flex-muscles-anti-immigrant-kristianstad|title=The rise of the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats: 'We don't feel at home any more, and it's their fault'|author=David Crouch|work=the Guardian|date=14 December 2014|access-date=24 February 2015|archive-date=17 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517171158/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/14/sweden-democrats-flex-muscles-anti-immigrant-kristianstad|url-status=live}}
*{{Citation|first=Antonis A. |last=Ellinas |title=The Media and the Far Right in Western Europe: Playing the Nationalist Card |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |pages=10–11}}
*{{cite news|title=The far right in northern Europe|url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2011/03/17/on-the-march|access-date=5 April 2011|newspaper=Economist|date=7 March 2011|archive-date=6 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806221000/http://www.economist.com/node/18398641?story_id=18398641|url-status=live}}</ref> The Sweden Democrats reject the far-right label, saying that it no longer represents its political beliefs.<ref name=":42">{{cite web |last=Lišaníková |first=Kateřina |date=14 April 2016 |title=A Year After Swedish Elections: How Has the Country Changed? |url=https://www.securityoutlines.cz/a-year-after-swedish-electionsi-how-has-the-country-changed/ |website=securityoutlines.cz |access-date=1 August 2022 |archive-date=28 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828222148/https://www.securityoutlines.cz/a-year-after-swedish-electionsi-how-has-the-country-changed/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |date=2019-02-01 |title=Sweden Democrats drop their call for 'Swexit' referendum on leaving EU |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20190201/sweden-democrats-drop-their-call-for-swexit-referendum-on-leaving-eu?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AerBZYNPwtJdRe7b5splH5FKr09ManJ7aaxzGpc63uRIBWPmeUVPlz9RWeEeZ9aL2M4=&gaa_ts=67fa6989&gaa_sig=nU2W7gypGIO0ISfnRpuxyvHTvmjRpqUEYK7-Dp3-u-zrQEW1bqJFn0_fTnE4JuQMA_SrnzK-QQArcY9Wr7Qktw== |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=The Local Sweden |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Nyheter |first=S. V. T. |date=2025-03-06 |title=Sverigedemokraterna: I det här läget behövs EU |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/sverigedemokraterna-i-det-har-laget-behovs-eu |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=SVT Nyheter |language=sv}}</ref> Among the party's founders and early members were several people that had previously been active in [[White nationalism|white nationalist]] and [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] political parties and organizations.<ref name="r1089" /><ref name="kvallsposten">{{cite web |url=http://www.expressen.se/kvallsposten/har-bildar-nazisterna-partiet-sd--i-malmo/ |work=Kvällsposten |title=Här bildar nazisterna partiet SD – i Malmö |access-date=2 May 2017 |language=sv |date=14 September 2014 |archive-date=17 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117090841/https://www.expressen.se/kvallsposten/har-bildar-nazisterna-partiet-sd--i-malmo/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ekstrom">{{cite news |last1=Treijs |first1=Erica |date=1 May 2017 |title=Nazist arbetade för SS – var med och grundade SD |trans-title=Nazi worked for SS – was part of the founding of SD |url=https://www.svd.se/nazist-arbetade-for-ss--var-med-och-grundade-sd |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 May 2017 |work=[[Svenska Dagbladet]] |language=sv |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508110933/https://www.svd.se/nazist-arbetade-for-ss--var-med-och-grundade-sd |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="telegraphboots">{{Cite news|author=[[Jake Wallis Simons]]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/10823028/EU-elections-2014-I-can-hear-the-boots-of-the-1930s-marching-through-Europe.html|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|title=EU elections 2014: 'I can hear the boots of the 1930s marching through Europe'|date=14 May 2014|access-date=31 August 2018|archive-date=8 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108224958/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/10823028/EU-elections-2014-I-can-hear-the-boots-of-the-1930s-marching-through-Europe.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph2">{{cite news|author=James Rothwell |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/09/04/sweden-elections-everything-need-know/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/09/04/sweden-elections-everything-need-know/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=How the far right Sweden Democrats could be kingmakers after this weekend's election |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=4 September 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Under the leadership of [[Jimmie Åkesson]] since 2005, the SD underwent a process of reform and has sought to position itself as a more mainstream party by expelling hardline members and moderating its beliefs, building on a work that had begun during the late 1990s and early 2000s.<ref name="Rydgren" /><ref name="telegraphboots" /> Today, the SD officially rejects fascism and Nazism on their platform and since 2012 has maintained a zero-tolerance policy against "extremists", "lawbreakers", and "racists".<ref name="zero-tolerance_policy">{{cite news |date=15 November 2012 |title=Åkesson (SD) vill 'städa upp' i leden |trans-title=Åkesson (SD) wants to "clean up" in the ranks |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/akesson-sd-vill-stada-upp-i-leden |access-date=13 June 2023 |website=SVT Nyheter |publisher=[[Sveriges Television]] |language=sv |archive-date=13 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613102228/https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/akesson-sd-vill-stada-upp-i-leden |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2025, the SD issued an official apology for its previous links to neo-Nazism during its early years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/sweden-democrats-apologize-for-past-nazi-links-antisemitism-as-election-nears/ |title=Sweden Democrats apologize for past Nazi links, antisemitism as election nears |work=The Times of Israel |date=26 June 2025 |access-date=2025-06-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ahlander |first1=Johan |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/sweden-democrats-apologise-past-nazi-links-antisemitism-election-nears-2025-06-26/ |title=Sweden Democrats apologise for past Nazi links, antisemitism as election nears |work=Reuters |date=26 June 2025 |access-date=2025-06-27}}</ref>

The Sweden Democrats oppose current [[Immigration to Sweden|Swedish immigration]] and integration policies, instead supporting stronger restrictions on immigration and measures for immigrants to assimilate into Swedish culture. The Sweden Democrats are critical of [[multiculturalism]] and support having a common national and cultural identity, which they believe improves social cohesion. The party supports the [[Welfare in Sweden|Swedish welfare state]] but is against providing welfare to people who are not Swedish citizens and permanent residents of Sweden. The Sweden Democrats support a [[Mixed economy|mixed market economy]] combining ideas from the centre-left and centre-right. The party supports [[same-sex marriage]], [[civil union]]s for gay couples, and [[gender-affirming surgery]] but prefers that children be raised in a traditional [[nuclear family]] and argues that churches or private institutions should have the final say on performing a wedding over the state. The SD also calls for a ban on forced, polygamous or child marriages and stricter enforcement of laws against honour violence. The Sweden Democrats support keeping Sweden's [[nuclear power plant]]s in order to [[Climate change mitigation|mitigate climate change]] but argues that other countries should reduce their [[greenhouse gas emissions]] instead of Sweden, which the party believes is doing enough to reduce their emissions.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} The Sweden Democrats support generally increasing minimum sentences for crimes, as well as increasing [[Swedish Police Authority|police]] resources and personnel. The party also supports increasing the number of [[Swedish Army]] brigades and supports raising Sweden's defense spending.

Support for the Sweden Democrats has grown steadily since the 1990s and the party crossed the 4% threshold necessary for parliamentary representation for the first time during the [[2010 Swedish general election]], polling 5.7% and gaining 20 seats in the [[Riksdag]].<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |date=23 September 2010 |title=Val till riksdagen - Röster |trans-title=Election to the riksdag - Votes |url=https://historik.val.se/val/val2010/slutresultat/R/rike/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126223807/https://historik.val.se/val/val2010/slutresultat/R/rike/index.html |archive-date=26 November 2022 |access-date=30 August 2024 |publisher=[[Valmyndigheten]] |language=sv }}</ref><ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web |language = sv |place = SE |url = http://www.val.se/val/val2010/slutresultat/protokoll/protokoll_00R.pdf |title = Valmyndigheten-Protokoll |publisher = Val |date = 23 September 2010 |access-date = 24 September 2010 |archive-date = 4 March 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054127/http://www.val.se/val/val2010/slutresultat/protokoll/protokoll_00R.pdf |url-status = live }}</ref> This increase in popularity has been compared by international media to other similar anti-immigration movements in Europe.<ref name="Castle20092010">{{Citation |last = Castle |first = Stephen |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/world/europe/20sweden.html |title = Swedish Anti-Immigration Party Claims Seats |newspaper = The New York Times |edition = global |date = 19 September 2010 |access-date = 25 February 2017 |archive-date = 14 March 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170314183112/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/world/europe/20sweden.html |url-status = live }}</ref> The party received increased support in the [[2018 Swedish general election]], when it polled 17.5% and secured 62 seats in parliament, becoming the third largest party in Sweden.<ref name="parl2014">{{cite web |date=19 September 2014 |title=Val till riksdagen - Röster |url=https://historik.val.se/val/val2014/slutresultat/R/rike/ |access-date=19 September 2014 |publisher=[[Valmyndigheten]] |place=SE |language=sv |archive-date=13 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913080024/https://historik.val.se/val/val2014/slutresultat/R/rike/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Val till Riksdagen – Röster – Skånes läns norra och östra |url=https://historik.val.se/val/val2014/slutresultat/R/rvalkrets/14/index.html |access-date=4 August 2015 |publisher=[[Valmyndigheten]] |language=sv |archive-date=5 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405192630/https://historik.val.se/val/val2014/slutresultat/R/rvalkrets/14/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Sweden Democrats were formerly isolated in the Riksdag until the late 2010s, with other parties maintaining [[Cordon sanitaire (politics)|a policy of refusing cooperation with them]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Christodoulou |first=Loukas |date=2014-09-15 |title=Will the Sweden Democrats stay isolated? |url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/5965660 |access-date=2024-08-30 |work=[[Sveriges Radio]] |language=en |archive-date=18 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240318171801/https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/5965660 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Reuterspoll">{{cite news |date=22 August 2018 |title=Support for Sweden Dems slips ahead of Sept 9 election: poll |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-election-poll/support-for-sweden-dems-slips-ahead-of-sept-9-election-poll-idUSKCN1L71K2 |publisher=[[Reuters]] |location=London |access-date=4 September 2018 |archive-date=1 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901044645/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sweden-election-poll/support-for-sweden-dems-slips-ahead-of-sept-9-election-poll-idUSKCN1L71K2 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019, the leader of the [[Christian Democrats (Sweden)|Christian Democrats]], [[Ebba Busch]] announced that her party was ready to start negotiations with the Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag,<ref name="Hamidi-Nia">{{cite news|url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/kd-ledaren-oppnar-for-sd-samarbete|title=KD-ledaren öppnar för SD-samarbete|last=Hamidi-Nia|first=Gilda|date=21 March 2019|access-date=5 April 2019|language=sv|archive-date=31 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331054325/https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/kd-ledaren-oppnar-for-sd-samarbete|url-status=live}}</ref> as did [[Moderate Party]] leader [[Ulf Kristersson]]. In the [[2022 Swedish general election]], the party ran as part of a broad right-wing alliance with those two parties and the [[Liberals (Sweden)|Liberals]], and came second overall with 20.5% of the vote.<ref name=":6">{{cite news |last=Dahlerup |first=Drude |title=Sweden's mainstream parties cravenly opened the door to anti-immigrant populists |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/18/swedens-mainstream-parties-cravenly-opened-the-door-to-anti-immigrant-populists |access-date=19 September 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=18 September 2022}}</ref> Following the election and the [[Tidö Agreement]], it was negotiated that SD agreed to support a Moderate Party-led government together with the Christian Democrats and the Liberals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/elections-sweden-government-and-politics-945104209e78dd5722aacbfe9eebbf2c|title=Sweden's parliament elects conservative prime minister|url-status=live|website=[[AP News]]|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|date=17 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017143254/https://apnews.com/article/elections-sweden-government-and-politics-945104209e78dd5722aacbfe9eebbf2c|archive-date=17 October 2022|access-date=19 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/sweden-lawmakers-elect-ulf-kristersson-as-prime-minister/a-63461080|url-status=live|title=Swedish parliament elects conservative PM|publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017142623/https://www.dw.com/en/sweden-lawmakers-elect-ulf-kristersson-as-prime-minister/a-63461080|archive-date=17 October 2022|access-date=19 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Cursino|first=Malu|date=17 October 2022|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63289903|url-status=live|title=Ulf Kristersson: Swedish parliament elects new PM backed by far right|publisher=[[BBC News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017154017/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63289903|archive-date=17 October 2022|access-date=19 October 2022}}</ref> It is the first time that SD holds direct influence over the government.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sweden Democrats, far-right party, part of government for 1st time ever |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sweden-new-government-1.6618787 |date=1 October 2022 |website=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] |access-date=17 October 2022 |archive-date=17 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017130229/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sweden-new-government-1.6618787 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Anderson |first=Christina |date=17 October 2022 |title=Rightist Party in Sweden Gets No Formal Role but Big Say in Government |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/17/world/europe/sweden-democrats-government-immigration.html |access-date=20 October 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=20 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020003557/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/17/world/europe/sweden-democrats-government-immigration.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== History ==
=== Early years (1988–1995) ===
[[File:Sdsticker.jpg|thumb|Early sticker used by the Sweden Democrats with the slogan {{lang|sv|Bevara Sverige Svenskt}} ("Keep Sweden Swedish")]]
The Sweden Democrats party was founded in 1988 as a direct successor to the [[Sweden Party]],<ref name="Rydgren"/> which in turn had been formed in 1986 by the merger of the activist group {{lang|sv|[[Bevara Sverige Svenskt]]}} (BSS; in English: "Keep Sweden Swedish") and a faction of the [[Progress Party (Sweden)|Swedish Progress Party]]. The SD continued to use Keep Sweden Swedish as its slogan until the late 1990s.<ref name="r1089">Rydgren, 2006, pp. 108–109.</ref> The SD claims 6 February 1988 as the date of its foundation and that the party was formally registered after a meeting in Stockholm designed to bring together various nationalist movements who issued a [[white paper]] for a new party, although observers tend to see the party's foundation as part of a complex decade-long series of events, with some even calling into question whether a meeting took place.<ref>Anders Widfeldt (2014). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=tm1eBAAAQBAJ&dq=6%20February%201988%20sverigedemokraterna&pg=PT245 Extreme Right in Scandinavia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416003606/https://books.google.com/books?id=tm1eBAAAQBAJ&dq=6%20February%201988%20sverigedemokraterna&pg=PT245 |date=16 April 2023 }}''. Routledge, p.245.</ref>

Initially, the SD did not have a single centralized leader and was instead fronted by two alternating spokespeople before [[Anders Klarström]] became the party's first official chairman and head of the Sweden Democrats' national board in 1989.<ref name="ekstrom"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ordfrontmagasin.se/fascistledarnas-bekannelser/ |title=Fascistledarnas bekännelser – Ordfront Magasin |website=ordfrontmagasin.se |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926112130/https://ordfrontmagasin.se/fascistledarnas-bekannelser/ |archive-date=26 September 2020}}</ref>

According to the anti-racism publication ''[[Expo (magazine)|Expo]]'' and the political historian Duncan McDonnell, it is generally agreed that the Sweden Democrats have never been a [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] or a fascist political party,<ref name="Expo_SD_Historia"/> although some of the SD's founders and early members had previously belonged to both Swedish and foreign neo-fascist and white nationalist groups. The party also had a reputation in the late 1980s and early 1990s for attracting [[skinhead]] gangs to its public events.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-13/sweden-democratic-party-has-far-right-roots-but-has-it-changed/10238482|title=Has Sweden's old 'Nazi' party really changed?|date=12 September 2018|website=www.abc.net.au}}</ref><ref name="kvallsposten"/> Studies by ''Expo'' documented that around nine of the original 30 people who founded the SD had associations to known Nordic fascist parties such as the [[New Swedish Movement]] and the [[Nazism in Sweden|neo-Nazi]] [[Nordic Realm Party]] ({{lang|sv|Nordiska rikspartiet}}, {{Abbr.}}''NRP'') while another eighteen had been part of the [[Keep Sweden Swedish]] organization. The study estimated that around sixty percent of party's national board members between 1989 and 1995 were connected to neo-Nazi movements in various ways both before and during their time in the party.<ref name="Expo_SD_Historia"/>  However, the study also concluded that a majority of these members were no longer active within the party by the mid-to-late-1990s.<ref>{{cite book|first=Stieg|last=Larsson|pages=108|publisher=EXPO|title=Sverigedemokraterna Den nationella rörelsen|year=2001}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref><ref name="Mattsson">{{cite book|date=2009|first=Pontus|isbn=978-91-27-11768-6|last=Mattsson|location=Stockholm|publisher=Natur & Kultur|title=Sverigedemokraterna in på bara skinnet}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> The party's first auditor, [[Gustaf Ekström]], was a ''[[Waffen-SS]]'' veteran and had been a member of the national socialist party ''[[National Socialist Workers' Party (Sweden)|Svensk Socialistisk Samling]]'' in the{{nbsp}}1940s.<ref name="edoc.hu-berlin.de" /> The SD's first chairman Anders Klarström and party co-founders and first board members Fritz Håkansson, Gösta Bergqvist and {{ill|lt=Sven Davidson|Sven Davidson (politician)|sv|Sven Davidson (politiker)}} had all been members of the Nordic Realm Party.<ref name="Schön">[[Bosse_Schön]], ''[https://www.etc.se/inrikes/nazisterna-som-skapade-sverigedemokraterna Nazisterna som skapade Sverigedemokraterna] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418135215/https://www.etc.se/inrikes/nazisterna-som-skapade-sverigedemokraterna|date=18 April 2024}}'', Tidningen ETC 4 February 2014.</ref> Klarström later elaborated he had briefly been part of the NRP as a teenager before distancing himself from it by the time he became SD leader.{{refn|<ref name="edoc.hu-berlin.de">{{Cite journal |first=Anders |last=Widfeldt |title=A fourth phase of the extreme right? Nordic immigration-critical parties in a comparative context |website=Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin |year=2010 |number=1/2 |pages=7–31 |doi=10.18452/8037 |url=https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/handle/18452/8689 |access-date=19 March 2024 |archive-date=19 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240319015552/https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/handle/18452/8689 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/2728776|title=Det dubbla ansiktet – Sverigedemokraterna granskas|publisher=[[Sveriges Radio]]|year=2009|language=sv|access-date=19 March 2024|archive-date=19 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240319015551/https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/2728776|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.expressen.se/kvallsposten/har-bildar-nazisterna-partiet-sd--i-malmo/|title=Här bildar nazisterna partiet SD – i Malmö {{!}} Kvällsposten|access-date=26 November 2018|language=sv-SE|archive-date=31 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231121708/https://www.expressen.se/kvallsposten/har-bildar-nazisterna-partiet-sd--i-malmo/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="svd.se">{{Cite news|url=https://www.svd.se/nazist-arbetade-for-ss--var-med-och-grundade-sd|title=Nazist arbetade för SS – var med och grundade SD|first=Erica|last=Treijs|newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet|date=30 April 2017|via=www.svd.se|access-date=2 May 2017|archive-date=8 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508110933/https://www.svd.se/nazist-arbetade-for-ss--var-med-och-grundade-sd|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Utan ånger: Gustaf Ekström – SS-veteranen som grundade Sverigedemokraterna. Johan Ulvenlöv, Matti Palm, Anders Larsson, 2017</ref><ref name="aftonbladet.se">{{cite web|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/zpmVK|title=Nazisten som grundade SD|website=Aftonbladet|date=5 June 2017|access-date=12 March 2021|archive-date=29 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129221801/https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/zpmVK|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="r1089"/><ref name="kvallsposten"/><ref name="ekstrom"/><ref name="telegraphboots"/><ref name="Telegraph2"/><ref name="Rydgren"/>}} The first version of the SD's old youth-wing, the ''[[Sweden Democratic Youth]]'' was accused of having dual leadership with neo-Nazi youth movements until 1995<ref>{{cite web |url=https://expo.se/lar-dig-mer/wiki/sverigedemokraterna-sd/ |title=Sverigedemokraterna (SD) |access-date=2 March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sdungdom.se/historik.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513001628/http://www.sdungdom.se/historik.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-05-13 |title=Historik |access-date=2 March 2025}}</ref> while the SD's logo from the 1990s until 2006 was a version of the torch used by the British [[National Front (UK)|National Front]].{{refn|<ref name="r1089"/><ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://sverigedemokraterna.se/vart-parti/blasippan-sverigedemokraternas-partisymbol/|title=Blåsippan – Sverigedemokraternas partisymbol|publisher=Sverigedemokraterna|language=sv|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923075630/http://sverigedemokraterna.se/vart-parti/blasippan-sverigedemokraternas-partisymbol/|archive-date=23 September 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=7 October 2010|place=SE}}</ref><ref name="Expo_SD_Historia">{{cite news|url=http://expo.se/2011/sa-ljuger-sd-om-sin-historia_3612.html|title=Så ljuger SD om sin historia|work=[[Expo (magazine)|Expo]]|first=Daniel|last=Poohl|access-date=24 January 2011|language=sv|archive-date=17 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110117062501/http://expo.se/2011/sa-ljuger-sd-om-sin-historia_3612.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.skma.se/nov06/sverigedemokrater.pdf|title=Sverigedemokraterna inga arvtagare till nationalsocialisterna|work=[[Swedish Committee Against Antisemitism]]|first=Heléne|last=Lööw|access-date=24 January 2011|language=sv|archive-date=12 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212014122/http://www.skma.se/nov06/sverigedemokrater.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} The SD also encountered controversy for some of its early policy ideas before 1999, which included a proposal to repatriate most immigrants who came to Sweden from 1970, banning adoption of foreign born children and reinstating the death penalty.<ref name="auto6">{{cite web|url=https://ordfrontmagasin.se/fascistledarnas-bekannelser/|title=Fascistledarnas bekännelser|date=9 January 2019|access-date=27 February 2021|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420143112/https://ordfrontmagasin.se/fascistledarnas-bekannelser/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The party promoted concerts by the Swedish offshoot of [[Rock Against Communism]] and sponsored music of the nationalist [[Viking rock]] band [[Ultima Thule (Swedish band)|Ultima Thule]]. Various party officials today acknowledge that being fans of Ultima Thule's music factored prominently in their decision to become politically engaged.<ref name="Teitelbaum 2013"/> Early on, the party's newspaper ''SD-Kuriren'' promoted connections to its readers such as the [[National Democratic Party of Germany]], the American [[National Association for the Advancement of White People]] (founded by [[David Duke]]), British politician [[John Tyndall (far-right activist)|John Tyndall]] and publications like the Nazi ''[[Nation Europa]]'' and ''[[Nouvelle École]]'', a newspaper that advocates [[scientific racism|racial biology]] and the British neo-Nazi [[Combat 18]] movement.<ref name="vitbok">{{Citation |title=Sverigedemokraternas vitbok 1988–2014 |year=2014 |url=http://expo.se/www/download/sds_vitbok_Expo_2_2014.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912071628/http://expo.se/www/download/sds_vitbok_Expo_2_2014.pdf |archive-date=12 September 2014 |url-status=dead |publisher=[[Expo (magazine)|Expo]] |language=sv}}</ref><ref name="SDBulle 11-89">{{cite news |title=Adresser till ledande utländska nationella partier och tidningar |journal=SD-Bulletinen |year=1989 |page=3 |url=http://www.sdarkivet.se/publikationer/sd-bulletinen/SD-Bulletinen_1989_11.pdf |language=sv |access-date=16 September 2017 |archive-date=20 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020122149/http://www.sdarkivet.se/publikationer/sd-bulletinen/SD-Bulletinen_1989_11.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The SD won municipal representation for the first time during the [[1991 Swedish local elections]] in [[Dals-Ed Municipality]] and [[Höör]].<ref name="SD10">{{cite book|date=1998|id=[[LIBRIS]]:&nbsp;[http://libris.kb.se/bib/2434119 2434119]|location=[[Stockholm]]|publisher=Sverigedemokraterna|title=Sverigedemokraterna 10 år!!! : 1988–1998}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

=== Moderation and growth (1995–2010) ===
[[File:Jimmie Åkesson inför partiledardebatt i SVT.jpg|thumb|[[Jimmie Åkesson]], interviewed before an SVT party-leader debate in 2014]]
In 1995, Klarström was replaced as SD chairman by [[Mikael Jansson (politician)|Mikael Jansson]], a former member of the [[Centre Party (Sweden)|Centre Party]]. Jansson strove to make the party more respectable and took a direct stance against displays of extremism within its ranks. In 1995, the SD closed down its youth-wing and after skinheads started to impose on SD meetings, consuming alcohol at party events, displaying fascist imagery and the wearing of any kind of political uniform were formally banned in 1996. Also in 1996, it was revealed that an SD spokeswoman [[Tina Hallgren]], had been to a party meeting of [[National Socialist Front]] posing in a Nazi uniform. Opposition to the party have mistakenly mixed these two events together and falsely claim that she was wearing the uniform at a rally of the Sweden Democrats and that it was because of this that the uniform ban came about.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/09/12/magasinet/politikk/utenriks/sverige/sverigedemokraterna/13277818/ |title=Gikk med naziuniform, hakekors og brunskjorte |newspaper=Dagbladet |first=Astrid |last=Meland |date=12 September 2010 |access-date=29 October 2012 |archive-date=17 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017000901/http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/09/12/magasinet/politikk/utenriks/sverige/sverigedemokraterna/13277818/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=r108>Rydgren, 2006, p. 108.</ref><ref name=nrk /> During the early 1990s, the SD sought to become a more conventional political party and became more influenced by the French [[National Rally]], as well as the [[Freedom Party of Austria]], the [[Danish People's Party]], German [[The Republicans (Germany)|The Republicans]] and Italian [[National Alliance (Italy)|National Alliance]].<ref name=r109 /> SD{{nbsp}}received economic support for the [[1998 Swedish general election|1998 election]] from the then called French National Front, and became active in [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]]'s [[Euronat]] from the same time.<ref name=nrk /><ref name=expo>{{Citation |url=http://www.expo.se/2010/sverigedemokraterna---fran-gatan-till-parlamentet_3279.html |title=Sverigedemokraterna – från gatan till parlamentet |publisher=Expo Idag |date=25 August 2010}}</ref> By the end of the decade, the party took further steps to moderate itself by distancing itself from all forms of fascist ideology, softening its policies on immigration and capital punishment and removing party figures deemed to be too radical.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fondapol.org/en/study/sweden-democrats-an-anti-immigration/ |title="Sweden Democrats" : an anti-immigration vote |access-date=2025-02-28}}</ref> In 1999, the SD left Euronat although the youth wing remained affiliated until 2002.<ref name=expo /> In 2001, the most extreme faction was expelled from the party, leading to the formation of the more radical [[National Democrats (Sweden)|National Democrats]] which in turn resulted in many of the SD's remaining hardline members leaving for the new party.<ref name=r109>Rydgren, 2006, p. 109.</ref>

During the early 2000s, the so-called "Scania gang", also known as the "Gang of Four" or "Fantastic Four", which consisted of the youth wing chairman [[Jimmie Åkesson]], as well as [[Björn Söder]], [[Mattias Karlsson (politician, born 1977)|Mattias Karlsson]] and [[Richard Jomshof]] continued and expanded the moderation policy, which included ousting openly extremist members, banning neo-Nazi activists from attending party events or obtaining membership, and further revising the SD's policy platform.<ref name=nrk>{{cite news|url=http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/verden/1.7304305|title=Fra kjelleren til Riksdagen|work=[[Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation]]|first=Laila Ø.|last=Bakken|date=25 September 2010|access-date=13 November 2010|archive-date=29 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929184605/http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/verden/1.7304305|url-status=live}}</ref> Before the 2002 election, former [[Member of Parliament (Sweden)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for the [[Moderate Party]], [[Sten Christer Andersson|Sten Andersson]] defected to SD, citing that the party had gotten rid of its extreme-right elements.<ref name=expo /> In 2003, the party declared the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] to be a cornerstone of its policies.<ref>Rydgren, 2006, p. 116.</ref> In 2005, Åkesson defeated Jansson in a leadership contest. Shortly after, the party changed its logo from the flaming torch to one featuring an ''[[Anemone hepatica]]'', reminiscent of the party's very first, but short-lived, logo (a stylised ''[[Myosotis scorpioides]]'').<ref name=sdhis>{{cite web|url=http://sverigedemokraterna.se/vart-parti/partiets-historik-i-kronologisk-ordning/ |work=Sweden Democrats |title=Partiets historik i kronologisk ordning |access-date=25 January 2011 |language=sv |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129031803/http://sverigedemokraterna.se/vart-parti/partiets-historik-i-kronologisk-ordning/ |archive-date=29 November 2010 }}</ref>

=== Entrance into parliament and ideological realignment (2010–2014) ===

In the [[2010 Swedish general election]], SD{{nbsp}}won representation in the [[Riksdag|Swedish Riksdag]] for the first time, with{{nbsp}}5.7% of the vote and 20{{nbsp}}MPs.

In 2010, the SD leadership introduced a charter against racism on the party platform and later expanded this into a zero-tolerance policy regarding political extremism and law breaking. After some of the SD's elected members caused controversies during the party's first term in the Riksdag, the SD also stated it would introduce a vetting procedure for its future parliamentary candidates and issued updated guidelines on conduct and communication for party members.<ref name="SD launches an internal glossbook">{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/a/43e049ec-539d-38c4-8e86-448ef8e9b8c2/sd-lanserar-en-intern-glosbok |title=SD launches an internal glossbook |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |date=25 October 2012 |access-date=30 January 2024 |last1=Stiernstedt |first1=Jenny |archive-date=30 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130223134/https://www.svd.se/a/43e049ec-539d-38c4-8e86-448ef8e9b8c2/sd-lanserar-en-intern-glosbok |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2012/12/17/sweden-democrats-racism-scandal-hellstrom/ |title=The Sweden Democrats racism scandal will not be a fatal blow to the party's appeal to the Swedish electorate. |work=EUROPP |date=17 December 2013 |access-date=20 June 2023 |archive-date=20 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230620192250/https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2012/12/17/sweden-democrats-racism-scandal-hellstrom/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/10823028/EU-elections-2014-I-can-hear-the-boots-of-the-1930s-marching-through-Europe.html |title=EU elections 2014: 'I can hear the boots of the 1930s marching through Europe' |date=17 December 2013 |access-date=20 June 2023 |archive-date=8 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108224958/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/10823028/EU-elections-2014-I-can-hear-the-boots-of-the-1930s-marching-through-Europe.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2011, the party also changed its self-description from "nationalist" to "social conservative".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-rise-of-sweden-democrats-and-the-end-of-swedish-exceptionalism/ |title=The Rise of Sweden Democrats: Islam, Populism and the End of Swedish Exceptionalism |date=25 March 2020 |access-date=20 January 2023 |archive-date=27 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327042822/https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-rise-of-sweden-democrats-and-the-end-of-swedish-exceptionalism/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sweden Democrat MP [[William Petzäll]] was persuaded to leave the party on 26 September 2011 while still retaining his parliamentary seat.<ref name=expressen>{{cite news|url=http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/avslojar/1.2572011/sd-ledamoten-william-petzall-lamnar-partiet-blir-politisk-vilde|title=SD-ledamoten William Petzäll lämnar partiet – blir politisk vilde|work=[[Expressen]]|first=David|last=Baas|date=26 September 2011|access-date=9 October 2011|language=sv|archive-date=27 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927173605/http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/avslojar/1.2572011/sd-ledamoten-william-petzall-lamnar-partiet-blir-politisk-vilde|url-status=live}}</ref> This was done because of Petzäll's [[substance abuse]] and the problems this might cause for SD's{{nbsp}}public image. Petzäll later died of an overdose and his seat was turned over to [[Stellan Bojerud]] in September 2012.

In November 2012, videos from August 2010 were released, in segments, over the course of three days by Swedish newspaper ''[[Expressen]]'' (a year earlier, ''Expressen'' had released the same videos without making much noise). This came to be known as the [[Iron pipe scandal]], although the same videos had already been released on [[YouTube]] by Erik Almqvist in 2010. The videos, recorded by MP [[Kent Ekeroth]], featured him along with fellow Sweden Democrats MP [[Erik Almqvist]] and [[Christian Westling]]. The videos show Almqvist arguing with comedian [[Soran Ismail]]: Almqvist is referring to Sweden as "my country, not your country", as an insult to Ismail. They are also shown arguing with a drunken man. A woman can also be seen approaching Kent Ekeroth while filming; he calls her a whore and pushes her out of the way. A few minutes later they are seen picking up iron bars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelocal.se/44440/20121115/ |title=Swedish press: scandal shows 'true face' of Sweden Democrats |website=[[The Local]] |date=15 November 2012 |access-date=19 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118062322/http://www.thelocal.se/44440/20121115 |archive-date=18 November 2012 }}</ref> Coming only a month after party leader Åkesson had instated a zero-tolerance policy towards racism in the party,<ref name="zero-tolerance_policy" /> the release of the video caused Almqvist to leave his position as the party's economic policy spokesperson and his place in the executive committee on 14 November. He excused himself as having been under a lot of pressure and threats of violence at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelocal.se/44418/20121114/ |title=Top Sweden Democrat quits after racist film |website=[[The Local]] |date=14 November 2012 |access-date=19 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121117003358/http://www.thelocal.se/44418/20121114 |archive-date=17 November 2012 }}</ref> As more segments of the video were released, revealing the other two men's involvement, the party announced on 15 November that Ekeroth would take a break from his position as the party's justice policy spokesman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelocal.se/44432/20121115/ |title=Ekeroth takes 'break' after new revelations |website=[[The Local]] |date=15 November 2012 |access-date=19 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118062251/http://www.thelocal.se/44432/20121115 |archive-date=18 November 2012 }}</ref> Almqvist and Ekeroth both took time off from their parliament seats. [[Sweden Democratic Youth]] president [[Gustav Kasselstrand]] and vice president [[William Hahne]] criticised the decision to remove Almqvist and Ekeroth in an [[op-ed]] in ''[[Dagens Nyheter]]'', arguing that the party should not give in to media pressure.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/sdu-fel-peta-almqvist_7671922.svd|title=SDU: Fel peta Alqvist|newspaper=[[Svenska Dagbladet]]|date=15 November 2012|access-date=19 November 2012|language=sv|archive-date=18 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118040052/http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/sdu-fel-peta-almqvist_7671922.svd|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:SD-sympatisörer inför EU-valet 2014.jpg|thumb|Sweden Democrat supporters in Stockholm during the 2014 European elections]]

Only two weeks after Almqvist and Ekeroth were forced to step down, fellow MP [[Lars Isovaara]] reported being robbed of his backpack and pushed out of his wheelchair by "two unknown men of an immigrant background". When trying to get into the Riksdag, Isovaara was himself reported by the police for racial abuse against safety guards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelocal.se/44724/20121128/ |title=Oinking Sweden Democrat spat at guard |website=[[The Local]] |date=28 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130222936/http://www.thelocal.se/44724/20121128/ |archive-date=30 November 2012 }}</ref> The Sweden Democrats initially defended Isovaara, but backed down when ''Expressen'' revealed that Isovaara had actually forgotten his backpack at a restaurant, and that the two men had helped him when he fell out of his wheelchair.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelocal.se/44726/20121129/ |title=Found bag puts Sweden Democrat MP in doubt |website=[[The Local]] |date=29 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202170753/http://www.thelocal.se/44726/20121129 |archive-date=2 December 2012 }}</ref> He left his seat in the Riksdag on 29 November, and was replaced by [[Markus Wiechel]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/isovaaras-ersattare-tidigare-domd-for-fortal/|title=Isovaaras ersättare tidigare dömd för förtal|newspaper=[[Expressen]]|first=Oscar|last=Julander|date=29 November 2012|language=sv|access-date=29 November 2012|archive-date=1 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201074520/http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/isovaaras-ersattare-tidigare-domd-for-fortal/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Rise in national support (2014–2018) ===
In the [[2014 European Parliament election in Sweden|European election of 2014]], SD received 9.67% of votes, winning two seats in the European Parliament and becoming the fifth largest party in the country. The party later joined the [[Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe]] and the [[Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy]] group.

In the [[2014 Swedish general election|2014 election]], the Sweden Democrats received 12.9%{{nbsp}}of the votes, doubling their support and becoming the third-largest party. The party remained big in [[Scania]] and [[Blekinge]]; for example in [[Malmö]] the party received 14% of the votes, in [[Landskrona]] it received 19% of the votes and in [[Sjöbo]] a total of 30% rendering the party the largest in that municipality.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.val.se/val/val2014/slutresultat/R/kommun/12/65/index.html|title=Valresultat Riksdag Sjöbo kommun 2014|publisher=Valmyndigheten|language=sv|access-date=28 July 2017|archive-date=28 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728013821/http://www.val.se/val/val2014/slutresultat/R/kommun/12/65/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Other parties, however, remained firm in their decision to isolate them from exerting influence. Out of 29 constituencies electing parliamentarians, the party was the second largest in "Scania North & East" while being the third largest party in 25.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.val.se/val/val2014/slutresultat/R/rike/index.html|title=Valresultat Rike Riksdag 2014|publisher=Valmyndigheten|language=sv|access-date=28 July 2017|archive-date=15 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215015643/http://www.val.se/val/val2014/slutresultat/R/rike/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Although relying heavily on rural areas and the deep south, the party also made strong inroads and results above 15% in some medium-sized central Sweden cities such as [[Norrköping]], [[Eskilstuna]] and [[Gävle]], indicating a widening of its voter base in all areas.

Some time after that, Åkesson announced he would go on sick leave due to [[Occupational burnout|burnout]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sverigedemokraterna.se/oppet-brev-fran-jimmie-akesson/|title=Jimmie Åkesson sjukskriven|work=Sverigedemokraterna|date=17 October 2014 |access-date=24 February 2015|archive-date=11 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511171757/https://sverigedemokraterna.se/oppet-brev-fran-jimmie-akesson/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/akesson-sjukskriven-pa-obestamd-tid/|title=Åkesson sjukskriven på obestämd tid|work=[[Dagens Nyheter]]|date=17 October 2014|access-date=24 February 2015|archive-date=23 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623182107/https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/akesson-sjukskriven-pa-obestamd-tid/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Mattias Karlsson (politician, born 1977)|Mattias Karlsson]] was appointed to temporarily take over Åkesson's duties as party leader.

On 23 March 2015, it was announced that Åkesson would return from his leave of absence to resume his duties as party leader following an interview to be broadcast on the Friday, 27 March instalment of the ''[[Skavlan]]'' program on [[Sveriges Television|SVT]], and a subsequent press conference with the Swedish media.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://samtiden.nu/12972/jimmie-akesson-kommer-tillbaka|title=Jimmie Åkesson kommer tillbaka|work=Samtiden|access-date=20 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622151222/http://samtiden.nu/12972/jimmie-akesson-kommer-tillbaka/|archive-date=22 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=1637&artikel=6123741|title=Uppgifter: Åkesson gör comeback|newspaper=Sveriges Radio|date=23 March 2015|access-date=20 June 2015|archive-date=1 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201132450/http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=1637&artikel=6123741|url-status=live}}</ref>

Amid media coverage regarding the high immigration figures and the [[2015 European migrant crisis|European migrant crisis]], the Sweden Democrats soared in all [[2018 Swedish general election#Opinion polls|opinion polls]] during the summer of 2015, even topping web-based polls from [[YouGov]] and Sentio in late summer, with a little over a quarter of the vote.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://yougov.se/news/2015/08/20/sd-ar-sveriges-storsta-parti/|title=SD är Sveriges största parti|language=sv|publisher=YouGov|date=20 August 2015|access-date=10 September 2015|archive-date=4 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004153557/https://yougov.se/news/2015/08/20/sd-ar-sveriges-storsta-parti/|url-status=live}}</ref> The party also saw rising support in phone-based polls, although the swing was lower.

=== Entering mainstream politics (2018–2022) ===
[[File:Sverigedemokraterna - Ystad-2018.jpg|thumb|SD rally in [[Ystad]] in August 2018 ahead of the 2018 Swedish general election]]
In early 2018, the [[Far-right politics|far-right]]<ref>{{cite web |date=9 April 2018 |title=TV4-profilen Lennart Matikainen kandiderar för Alternativ för Sverige |url=https://nyheter24.se/noje/906234-tv4-profilen-lennart-matikainen-kandiderar-for-alternativ-for-sverige |access-date=29 January 2023 |website=nyheter24.se |language=sv}}</ref> [[Alternative for Sweden]] was founded by members of the [[Sweden Democratic Youth]], who were collectively expelled from the Sweden Democrats in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.altinget.se/rikspolitik/artikel/kasselstrand-vill-in-i-riksdagen|title=Kasselstrand vill in i riksdagen|date=18 December 2017|access-date=29 March 2018|language=sv|archive-date=25 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225172804/https://www.altinget.se/rikspolitik/artikel/kasselstrand-vill-in-i-riksdagen|url-status=live}}</ref> Three Sweden Democrat members of the [[Riksdag]]{{snd}}[[Olle Felten]], [[Jeff Ahl]] and former leader [[Mikael Jansson (politician)|Mikael Jansson]]{{snd}}subsequently defected to the party.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/riksdagsledamot-lamnar-sd-blir-politisk-vilde/|newspaper=[[Dagens Nyheter]]|title=Riksdagsledamot lämnar SD – blir politisk vilde|language=sv|access-date=27 March 2018|date=27 March 2018|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109005222/https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/riksdagsledamot-lamnar-sd-blir-politisk-vilde/|url-status=live |url-access=subscription |first1=Amanda |last1=Lindholm |first2=Edgar |last2=Mannheimer}}</ref>

On 2 July 2018, the two Sweden Democrats MEPs left the [[Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy|EFDD group]] and moved to the [[European Conservatives and Reformists Group]].

In the [[2018 Swedish general election]], the SD increased its support to 17.5% of the vote,<ref>{{cite web | last1=Karnitschnig | first1=Matthew | title=Why Sweden's election was all about the rise of the far right | url=https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-election-2018-results-migration-far-right-neurotica/ | date=10 September 2018 | publisher=[[Politico]] | access-date=11 September 2018 | archive-date=6 December 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206090246/https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-election-2018-results-migration-far-right-neurotica/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last1=Henley | first1=Jon | title=Sweden Election: Far Right Makes Gains as Main Blocs Deadlocked | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/09/swedish-election-far-right-on-course-for-sizeable-gains-in-vote | date=10 September 2018 | newspaper=[[The Guardian]] | access-date=10 September 2018 | archive-date=18 November 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118201124/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/09/swedish-election-far-right-on-course-for-sizeable-gains-in-vote | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last1=Pancevski | first1=Bojan | title=Sweden Moves to the Right in an Election Shaped by Immigration | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/sweden-vote-leaves-no-clear-majority-polls-show-1536521388 | date=9 September 2018 | newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | access-date=10 September 2018 | archive-date=9 November 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109031144/https://www.wsj.com/articles/sweden-vote-leaves-no-clear-majority-polls-show-1536521388 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Chamberlain | first1=Samuel | title=Sweden election sees gains for far-right, anti-immigrant party | url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/sweden-election-sees-gains-for-far-right-anti-immigrant-party | date=9 September 2018 | publisher=[[Fox News]] | access-date=10 September 2018 | archive-date=30 September 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930202018/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/09/09/sweden-election-sees-gains-for-far-right-anti-immigrant-party.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Duxbury2018">{{cite web | last1=Duxbury | first1=Charlie | title=Sweden braces for political uncertainty as far right makes gains | url=https://www.politico.eu/article/swedens-two-main-blocs-neck-and-neck-in-election-exit-poll/ | date=9 September 2018 | publisher=[[Politico]] | access-date=10 September 2018 | archive-date=26 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026213417/https://www.politico.eu/article/swedens-two-main-blocs-neck-and-neck-in-election-exit-poll/ | url-status=live }}</ref> though it did not grow as much as most polls had predicted.<ref>{{cite news | last1=Crisp | first1=James | title=Analysis: Brussels Dodges Populist Bullet as Sweden Democrats Fall Short | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/09/10/analysis-brussels-dodges-populist-bullet-sweden-democrats-fall/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/09/10/analysis-brussels-dodges-populist-bullet-sweden-democrats-fall/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | date=10 September 2018 | newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | access-date=10 September 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=The anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats fail to achieve an electoral breakthrough | url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2018/09/10/the-anti-immigrant-sweden-democrats-fail-to-achieve-an-electoral-breakthrough | date=10 September 2018 | newspaper=[[The Economist]] | access-date=11 September 2018 | archive-date=24 November 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124015138/https://www.economist.com/europe/2018/09/10/the-anti-immigrant-sweden-democrats-fail-to-achieve-an-electoral-breakthrough | url-status=live }}</ref> According to Emily Schultheis of ''[[Foreign Policy]]'', the SD won an ideological victory, as it "effectively set the terms for debate" and forced its rivals to adopt immigration policies similar to its own,<ref>{{cite magazine | last1=Schultheis | first1=Emily | title=Sweden's Far Right Has Won the War of Ideas | url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/10/swedens-nazi-offspring-won-the-war-of-ideas/ | date=10 September 2018 | magazine=[[Foreign Policy]] | access-date=11 September 2018 | archive-date=25 December 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225172744/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/10/swedens-nazi-offspring-won-the-war-of-ideas/ | url-status=live }}</ref> and other reporters made similar observations.<ref>{{cite news | title=Europe's populists are waltzing into the mainstream | url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2018/02/03/europes-populists-are-waltzing-into-the-mainstream | date=3 February 2018 | newspaper=[[The Economist]] | access-date=12 September 2018 | archive-date=9 November 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109032535/https://www.economist.com/briefing/2018/02/03/europes-populists-are-waltzing-into-the-mainstream | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | last1=Teitelbaum | first1=Benjamin R. | title=In Sweden, Populist Nationalists Won on Policy, but Lost on Politics | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/in-sweden-populist-nationalists-won-on-policy-but-lost-on-politics/569968/ | date=12 September 2018 | magazine=[[The Atlantic]] | access-date=12 September 2018 | archive-date=24 November 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124100233/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/in-sweden-populist-nationalists-won-on-policy-but-lost-on-politics/569968/ | url-status=live }}</ref> The SD performed particularly well in [[Skåne County]], having the highest number of voters in 21 out of the county's 33 municipalities.<ref>{{cite news | last1=Orange | first1=Richard | title=Sweden Democrats biggest in two-thirds of Skåne districts | url=https://www.thelocal.se/20180911/sweden-democrats-biggest-in-two-thirds-of-skne-districts | date=11 September 2018 | website=[[The Local]] | access-date=11 September 2018 | archive-date=10 September 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910155145/https://www.thelocal.se/20180911/sweden-democrats-biggest-in-two-thirds-of-skne-districts | url-status=live }}</ref> An SVT analysis of the results found that at least 22 seats in 17 city councils would be empty as the Sweden Democrats won more seats than the number of candidates it had.<ref>{{cite web | title=Sweden Democrats Won More Local Seats than Able to Fill | url=https://euobserver.com/tickers/142915 | date=21 September 2018 | publisher=[[EUobserver]] | access-date=22 September 2018 | archive-date=13 April 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413182755/https://euobserver.com/tickers/142915 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last1=Öbrink | first1=Andreas | title=Efter SD:s framgång – tomma stolar i fullmäktige runt om i landet | newspaper=SVT Nyheter | url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/efter-sd-s-framgang-tomma-stolar-i-fullmaktige-runtom-i-landet | date=20 September 2018 | publisher=[[Sveriges Television]] | access-date=23 September 2018 | language=sv | archive-date=6 August 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806081559/https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/efter-sd-s-framgang-tomma-stolar-i-fullmaktige-runtom-i-landet | url-status=live }}</ref> The party also received its first mayor, in [[Hörby Municipality]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Sweden Democrats take power in municipal council | url=https://www.thelocal.se/20181004/sweden-democrats-take-power-in-municipal-council | date=4 October 2018 | website=[[The Local]] | access-date=6 October 2018 | archive-date=9 November 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109043048/https://www.thelocal.se/20181004/sweden-democrats-take-power-in-municipal-council | url-status=live }}</ref>

Following the election, [[Christian Democrats (Sweden)|Christian Democratic]] leader [[Ebba Busch]] announced that her party was willing to enter negotiations with the Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag.<ref name="Hamidi-Nia"/> In December 2019, [[Moderate Party]] leader [[Ulf Kristersson]] held an official meeting with the Sweden Democrat leadership for the first time, despite having previously ruled out negotiating with the party. This led to speculation that the SD could be included in a new centre-right grouping to replace the [[Alliance (Sweden)|Alliance]] which had collapsed after the [[Centre Party (Sweden)|Centre Party]] and the [[Liberals (Sweden)|Liberal Party]] left to support the Social Democratic led government.<ref name="auto5">{{cite web | title=Mainstream Swedish party open to working with once-spurned nationalists | url=https://www.ft.com/content/1e692a28-1764-11ea-9ee4-11f260415385 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/1e692a28-1764-11ea-9ee4-11f260415385 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | date= 5 December 2019 | publisher=FT.com | access-date= 17 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{cite news | title=Is Sweden seeing a new political bloc after Moderates and Sweden Democrats meet? | newspaper=Sveriges Radio | url=https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=7361092 | date=5 December 2019 | publisher=sverigesradio.se | access-date=17 March 2020 | last1=Foster | first1=Keith | archive-date=18 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018055805/https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/7361092 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 2018, the Sweden Democrats went into a governing coalitions with the [[Moderate Party]] and the Christian Democrats for the first time in [[Staffanstorp Municipality]], [[Sölvesborg Municipality]], [[Herrljunga Municipality]] and [[Bromölla Municipality]].<ref name="auto9">{{cite web|url=https://www.meforum.org/islamist-watch/57337/swedish-moderate-led-council-to-ban-halal-meat-in|title=Swedish Moderate-led council to ban halal meat in deal with populists|first=Richard|last=Orange|website=Islamist Watch|date=15 November 2018|access-date=26 February 2021|archive-date=22 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722071425/https://www.meforum.org/islamist-watch/57337/swedish-moderate-led-council-to-ban-halal-meat-in|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.thelocal.se/20181022/centre-right-seized-back-control-in-skne| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181022201447/https://www.thelocal.se/20181022/centre-right-seized-back-control-in-skne| archive-date = 22 October 2018| title = Centre-right Alliance takes power in Skåne – The Local}}</ref> In Bromölla, coalition felt apart in 2020, while new coalitions with the SD emerged in [[Svalöv Municipality]] (2019), [[Bjuv Municipality]] (2020) and [[Surahammar Municipality]] (2021).

In 2020, [[Mattias Karlsson (politician, born 1977)|Mattias Karlsson]], the former group leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag founded [[Oikos (Swedish think-tank)|Oikos]], a conservative think-tank which has been alleged to be an "extension of the Sweden Democrats' political project", supposedly also receiving funding from the party.<ref name="Poohl">{{cite web|last=Poohl|first=Daniel|title=SD:s nya tankesmedja är inte oberoende|url=https://expo.se/2020/02/sds-nya-tankesmedja-%C3%A4r-inte-oberoende|access-date=5 November 2021|website=Expo.se|language=sv|archive-date=5 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105064819/https://expo.se/2020/02/sds-nya-tankesmedja-%C3%A4r-inte-oberoende|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2021, the SD was invited to participate in alternative budget agreement talks with the Christian Democrats and the Moderates for the first time. That same year the SD also issued a [[Motion of no confidence|vote of no confidence]] against the [[Löfven II cabinet]] citing the government's handling on immigration, the economy and housing which was carried by the other opposition parties and led to Löfven's impeachment. The SD had previously issued a vote of no confidence in the government in 2015, albeit without success.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/klart-efter-misstroendeomrostningen-regeringen-faller |title=The government is brought down after a vote of no confidence |newspaper=Sveriges Radio |date=21 June 2021 |access-date=30 January 2024 |last1=Runblom |first1=Karin |last2=Olsson |first2=Lova }}</ref>

===2022 general election (since 2022)===
Ahead of the [[2022 Swedish general election]], the SD attempted to form a conservative grouping with the [[Moderate Party|Moderates]], Christian Democrats and the [[Liberals (Sweden)|Liberals]] and requested ministerial posts in government should the right-wing bloc form a parliamentary majority.<ref>{{cite web | title=Swedish election: far right makes gains but overall result on knife-edge | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/11/swedish-election-exit-polls-far-right | date=11 September 2022 | website=[[The Guardian]] | access-date=12 September 2022 | archive-date=11 September 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911204719/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/11/swedish-election-exit-polls-far-right | url-status=live }}</ref> During the election, the SD campaigned to reduce asylum migration close to zero, stricter policies on work permits, lower energy bills and a tougher stance on gang violence with longer prison sentences.<ref>{{Cite news |date=31 August 2022 |title=Sweden Democrats launch plan to bring asylum migration 'close to zero' |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20220831/sweden-democrats-launch-plan-to-bring-asylum-migration-close-to-zero/ |access-date=31 August 2022 |website=The Local Sweden |language=en-US |archive-date=31 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831200841/https://www.thelocal.se/20220831/sweden-democrats-launch-plan-to-bring-asylum-migration-close-to-zero/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Szumski |first=Charles |date=23 August 2022 |title=Far-right eurosceptic party surge in polls ahead of Swedish elections |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/far-right-eurosceptic-party-surge-in-polls-ahead-of-swedish-elections/ |access-date=31 August 2022 |website=Euractiv |language=en-GB |archive-date=31 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831181651/https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/far-right-eurosceptic-party-surge-in-polls-ahead-of-swedish-elections/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Preliminary results indicated that the Sweden Democrats had seen their strongest result to date and had overtaken the Moderates to become the second largest party with 20.6% of the vote. The result was confirmed after the election.<ref>{{cite web | title=Anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats celebrate election gains | url=https://www.ft.com/content/ed8e683a-f65e-4848-b83f-a65883f75db9 | date=12 September 2022 | website=[[The Financial Times]] | access-date=12 September 2022 | archive-date=10 December 2022 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/ed8e683a-f65e-4848-b83f-a65883f75db9 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 2022, the SD was allocated chairmanship of four parliamentary committees for the first time in the Riksdag with party secretary [[Richard Jomshof]] appointed to head the [[Committee on Justice|Justice Committee]], [[Aron Emilsson]] the [[Committee on Foreign Affairs (Sweden)|Committee on Foreign Affairs]], [[Tobias Andersson (politician)|Tobias Andersson]] the [[Committee on Industry and Trade (Sweden)|Committee on Industry and Trade]], and [[Magnus Persson (politician)|Magnus Persson]] the [[Committee on the Labour Market]]. SD parliamentarians were appointed as international delegation leaders for the first time, with [[Markus Wiechel]] becoming chairman of the Swedish delegation to the [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]], [[Björn Söder]] for the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] and [[Adam Marttinen]] the chairman of the joint-parliamentary group for [[Europol]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Sweden: Right-wing party get 4 chairmanships in parliament | url=https://apnews.com/article/business-elections-general-sweden-23be530858f6a14c01b0e782ebff4b8a | date=1 October 2022 | website=[[Associated Press]] | access-date=2 October 2022 | archive-date=1 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001201709/https://apnews.com/article/business-elections-general-sweden-23be530858f6a14c01b0e782ebff4b8a | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/sd-s-namn-till-presideposterna-klara|title=Richard Jomshof (SD) blir ordförande för justitieutskottet|first=Johan|last=Juhlin|newspaper=SVT Nyheter|date=1 October 2022|via=www.svt.se|access-date=11 January 2023|archive-date=20 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320033449/http://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/sd-s-namn-till-presideposterna-klara|url-status=live}}</ref>

The party also formed a deal with Moderate leader [[Ulf Kristersson]] to provide for the first time in their history parliamentary support to a Moderate Party-led government as part of the [[Tidö Agreement]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Szumski|first=Charles|date=16 September 2022|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/eu-lawmakers-slam-epp-for-siding-with-far-right-amid-swedish-election-results/|url-status=live|title=EU lawmakers slam EPP for siding with far-right amid Swedish election results|website=[[Euractiv]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924232011/https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/eu-lawmakers-slam-epp-for-siding-with-far-right-amid-swedish-election-results/|archive-date=24 September 2022|access-date=19 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Duxbury|first=Charlie|date=17 October 2022|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-parliament-center-right-leader-ulf-kristersson-prime-minister/|title=Swedish parliament backs center-right leader Ulf Kristersson as new PM|work=[[Politico]]|access-date=19 October 2022|archive-date=18 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018055908/https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-parliament-center-right-leader-ulf-kristersson-prime-minister/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Ideology and political positions ==
{{Conservatism in Sweden|Parties}}
The Sweden Democrats' current party programme is based on "democratic [[nationalism]]" and [[social conservatism]].<ref name="autogenerated10">{{cite web|url=http://hsf.bgu.ac.il/europe/index.aspx?pgid=pg_127842651505941456 |title=Radical Right-wing Populism in Sweden and Denmark |first=Jens |last=Rydgren |publisher=The Centre for the Study of European Politics and Society |access-date=21 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925083436/http://hsf.bgu.ac.il/europe/index.aspx?pgid=pg_127842651505941456 |archive-date=25 September 2010 }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Sverigedemokraternas principprogram 2019|trans-title=Sweden Democrats' party program 2019|url=https://ratatosk.sd.se/sd/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/16092141/Sverigedemokraternas-principprogram-2019.pdf|access-date=15 January 2021|website=|publisher=Sweden Democrats|archive-date=19 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119150305/https://ratatosk.sd.se/sd/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/16092141/Sverigedemokraternas-principprogram-2019.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The SD platform expresses that the party's core philosophy is inspired by Swedish [[national conservatism]] and parts of the [[Social democracy|social democratic]] {{lang|sv|[[folkhemmet]]}} ('the people's home') idea. SD rejects any positioning of the party within the classic left-right scale, instead referring to itself as a "value-oriented" or "value-conservative" party. The party has stated that "basic [[social justice]] with traditional conservative ideas", [[nationalism]] and desires for democratic and good governance form its main principles.<ref name="auto13">{{cite web |url=http://sverigedemokraterna.se/vara-asikter/sverigedemokraternas-principprogram-2005/ |title=The Sweden Democrats' principle program 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501181551/http://sverigedemokraterna.se/vara-asikter/sverigedemokraternas-principprogram-2005/ |access-date=2024-02-02|archive-date=1 May 2010 }}</ref> Nevertheless, the party is often described by international commentators as being [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]]<ref name="Toemmel2014">{{bulleted list
| {{cite news |last= Ellyatt |first= Holly |date= 7 October 2024 |title= Sweden told people to open their hearts to immigrants 10 years ago. Its U-turn has been dramatic |url= https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/07/swedens-immigration-stance-has-changed-radically-over-the-last-decade.html |work= CNBC |access-date= 26 April 2025}}
| {{cite news |last= Diehn |first= Sonya |date= 15 September 2022 |title= The astonishing rise of the right-wing Sweden Democrats |url= https://www.dw.com/en/swedish-election-the-astonishing-rise-of-the-right-wing-sweden-democrats/a-63100694 |work= Deutsche Welle (DW) |access-date= 26 April 2025}}
| {{cite web |date= 4 July 2024 |title= Voting intentions for parliamentary elections in Sweden as of December 2023, by age group |url= https://www.statista.com/statistics/1326492/voting-intentions-sweden-age/ |website= Statista |access-date= 26 April 2025}}
| {{cite news |date= 11 September 2022 |title= Sweden's ruling centre-left in slim election lead: Exit polls |url= https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/11/swedens-ruling-centre-left-to-win-by-slim-lead-exit-poll |work= Al Jazeera |access-date= 26 April 2025}}}}</ref> to [[Far-right politics|far-right]].<ref>{{bulleted list
| {{cite news |last= Duxbury |first= Charlie |date= 25 March 2021 |title= Sweden's far right takes a step closer to power |url= https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-far-right-jimmie-akesson-election-2022-step-closer-to-power/ |work= Politico Europe |access-date= 22 May 2022 |archive-date= 31 October 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221031200627/https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-far-right-jimmie-akesson-election-2022-step-closer-to-power/ |url-status= live }}
| {{cite news |date= 29 June 2021 |title= Swedish opposition leader tasked with forming new government |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/29/swedish-opposition-leader-asked-to-run-for-prime-minister |work= The Guardian |publisher= Agence France-Presse |location= Stockholm |access-date= 22 May 2022 |archive-date= 22 September 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220922101149/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/29/swedish-opposition-leader-asked-to-run-for-prime-minister |url-status= live }}
| {{cite news |date= 18 June 2021 |title= Swedish PM faces no-confidence vote, what happens now? |url= https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/swedish-pm-faces-no-confidence-vote-what-happens-now-2021-06-18/ |work= Reuters |access-date= 22 May 2022 |archive-date= 5 July 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210705101858/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/swedish-pm-faces-no-confidence-vote-what-happens-now-2021-06-18/ |url-status= live }}
| {{cite news |date= 29 November 2021 |title= Magdalena Andersson: Sweden's first female PM returns after resignation |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59459733 |work= BBC News |access-date= 22 May 2021 |archive-date= 26 September 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220926082631/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-59459733 |url-status= live }}
| {{cite news |date= 17 June 2021 |title= Swedish government set to lose confidence vote: parties |url= https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210617-swedish-government-set-to-lose-confidence-vote-parties |work= France 24 |location= Stockholm |access-date= 22 May 2022 |archive-date= 22 September 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220922024226/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210617-swedish-government-set-to-lose-confidence-vote-parties |url-status= live }}}}</ref>

In policy, SD articulates its main focus to be the areas of immigration, law and order and the elderly. The party also attaches particular importance to its economic and family policies.<ref>{{cite web|title=Valet 2010|url=http://sverigedemokraterna.se/valet-2010|publisher=Sverigedemokraterna.se|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430033438/http://sverigedemokraterna.se/valet-2010|archive-date=30 April 2010|access-date=30 September 2014}}</ref> The SD criticizes [[multiculturalism]] in Sweden and emphasizes preserving national heritage. It is also opposed to what it sees as a constant shift of power from Stockholm to the [[European Union]] and campaigns to protect Swedish sovereignty and financial autonomy against the EU.

===Political analysis===
The SD's ideology and political identity has evolved significantly in the decades since its founding and entrance into the Riksdag. Labels for the party have consequently been a source of debate by outside observers. Nordic Studies scholar [[Benjamin R. Teitelbaum]] called the SD radical nationalist in 2013 and by 2018 said the party has since moved to the "softer side" of European populist parties.<ref name="Teitelbaum 2013" /><ref name="auto7"/> The party has been described by sociologist [[Jens Rydgren]] and political scientist [[Cas Mudde]] variously as xenophobic, [[far-right]], racist or right-wing populist.<ref name="autogenerated10"/><ref>Rydgren, Jens (2005). ''Från skattemissnöje till etnisk nationalism: Högerpopulism och parlamentarisk högerextremism i Sverige''. [[Studentlitteratur]], Lund. |sid=124</ref><ref>[[Nationalencyklopedin]]: [http://ne.se/lang/sverigedemokraterna Sverigedemokraterna] (27 October 2009).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/sweden.html|title=Parties and Elections in Europe|author=Wolfram Nordsieck|website=Parties-and-elections.eu|access-date=24 February 2015|archive-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226040526/http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/sweden.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Mudde, Cas (2007). ''Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe''. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://theglobepost.com/2018/09/18/mudde-far-right-europe/ |title=Cas Mudde: No Western Democracy Naturally Immune to Far-Right |date=18 September 2018 |access-date=22 January 2023 |archive-date=23 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123002334/https://theglobepost.com/2018/09/18/mudde-far-right-europe/ |url-status=live }}</ref> French newspaper ''[[Le Monde]]'' profiled the SD as far-right and "a nationalist party with fascist roots".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/10/12/the-sweden-democrats-a-nationalist-party-with-fascist-roots_6000008_4.html |title=The Sweden Democrats, a nationalist party with fascist roots |website=[[Le Monde]] |date=12 October 2022 |access-date=2025-02-03}}</ref> Critics of the SD have argued that it contains a more dangerous or problematic ideology behind a moderate facade,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1468796809354214 |title='We Are the Good Guys': Ideological positioning of the nationalist party Sverigedemokraterna in contemporary Swedish politics |doi=10.1177/1468796809354214 |access-date=2025-06-19}}</ref> whereas others such as Teitelbaum have argued that research into the SD has been politically biased and that the SD has become more difficult to define due to its beliefs changing over the years.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Teitelbaum |first1=Benjamin R. |url=http://www.tidskriftenarkiv.se/index.php/hem/article/view/2000-6217.5.4 |title=Ignorerade band. Politik och ofullständiga ontologier i forskning om Sverigedemokraterna |journal=Arkiv. Tidskrift för Samhällsanalys |date=2016 |issue=5 |pages=93–110 |doi=10.13068/2000-6217.5.4 |access-date=2025-06-19}}</ref> In 2013, a [[Sveriges Radio]] journalist called the SD "xenophobic", which resulted in a complaint lodged to the broadcasting regulator by the party. The [[Swedish Press and Broadcasting Authority|Swedish Broadcasting Commission]] determined that this description was acceptable to use.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/okej-kalla-sd-framlingsfientligt_8260682.svd|title=Granskningsnämnden: Tillåtet att kalla SD främlingsfientligt|work=SvD.se|date=12 June 2013|access-date=24 February 2015|last1=Mellgren|first1=Fredrik}}</ref> According to Sveriges Radio in 2017, a European research agency classed the party as "extreme" using the Swedish {{interlanguage link|GAL-TAN|sv}} political scale, arguing that the SD is more traditionalist, socially authoritarian and nationalist and less progressive compared to other Swedish parliamentary parties and described the SD as similar to the [[National Rally|French National Rally]] in some of its policies.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/6924173 |title=Graphics: This is the GAL-TAN scale |newspaper=Sveriges Radio |date=5 April 2018 |access-date=30 January 2024}}</ref> In 2019, the polling company Novus said that their opinion polls show that SD is no-longer a [[Single-issue politics|"one-issue" party]] in regards to immigration, having won trust in other political questions too.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nyheter |first=S. V. T. |date=2019-09-22 |title=Novus: SD inte längre ett enfrågeparti |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/sd-inte-langre-enfrageparti |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=SVT Nyheter |language=sv}}</ref> In 2022, University of Gothenburg political scientist Johan Martinsson described the SD as "anti-immigration, anti-multicultural, nationalist" while stopping short of labelling the SD as a far-right party.<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62913356 |title=Sweden election: How an ex neo-Nazi movement became kingmakers |date=15 September 2022 |access-date=2025-02-03}}</ref>

However, the characterization of the SD as radical or extreme far-right has come under dispute in recent years by scholars and political observers. Commentator Kateřina Lišaníková observed that the SD had hardline origins through its founders and initial support network, and notes that the SD's leadership openly acknowledges the party's history, but argues the present version of the SD does not match the description of a radical far-right party but is mistakenly labelled as such by media or opponents who focus on the party's early rather than current beliefs. She stated that the SD is now a [[National conservatism|national conservative]]<ref name="Rydgren">{{cite book |last=Rydgren |first=Jens |author-link=Jens Rydgren |title=From Tax Populism to Ethnic Nationalism: Radical Right-wing Populism in Sweden |publisher=Berghahn Books |year=2006 |isbn=1-84545-218-6 |location=Oxford |pages=108–113}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Szumski |first1=Charles |title=Right-of-centre bloc, dominated by the far-right, set to win Swedish elections |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/right-of-centre-bloc-dominated-by-the-far-right-set-to-win-swedish-elections/ |work=www.euractiv.com |date=12 September 2022 |access-date=25 November 2022 |archive-date=25 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125171324/https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/right-of-centre-bloc-dominated-by-the-far-right-set-to-win-swedish-elections/ |url-status=live }}</ref> party with populist elements but does not contradict democratic or Swedish constitutional principles.<ref name=":4">{{cite web|url=https://www.securityoutlines.cz/a-year-after-swedish-electionsi-how-has-the-country-changed/|title=A Year After Swedish Elections: How Has the Country Changed?|first=Kateřina|last=Lišaníková|date=14 April 2016|website=securityoutlines.cz|access-date=1 August 2022|archive-date=28 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828222148/https://www.securityoutlines.cz/a-year-after-swedish-electionsi-how-has-the-country-changed/|url-status=live}}</ref> Similar observations were made in 2021 by Swedish political scientist Sören Holmberg that "extreme right" was not a good description for the SD when placed within the traditional left-right scale, since the party contains centre-left and centrist policies on some issues compared to the other centre-right parties in Sweden. Holmberg furthermore argued that while SD can be considered a [[Right-wing populism|right-wing populist]] party, the label "populist" has become unstable due to some of the other parties in the Riksdag adopting populist ideas of their own. He concluded national-conservative was a better term for the SD.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kvartal.se/artiklar/nej-polariseringen-har-inte-okat/ |title=The Friday interview |access-date=30 January 2024 |archive-date=10 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210204419/https://kvartal.se/artiklar/nej-polariseringen-har-inte-okat/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Swedish sociologist Göran Adamson has also argued some political opposition conflate the SD's national conservative image as being right-wing extremist, and argued that the SD today is no longer comparable to European extreme-right or neo-fascist parties since the SD has a more liberal direction in several areas, and there is no evidence to suggest that the current incarnation of the party's policies are fascist or anti-democratic.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kvartal.se/artiklar/ar-sverigedemokraterna-demokrater/ |title=Are the Sweden Democrats democrats? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422233832/https://kvartal.se/artiklar/ar-sverigedemokraterna-demokrater/ |access-date=30 January 2024|archive-date=22 April 2021 }}</ref>

Describing the party's political trajectory, Johan Martinsson wrote that "culturally nationalist" was the most appropriate label for the Sweden Democrats since the party has continued to change its ideological programs and manifestos since its founding and no longer refer to [[ethnic nationalism]] in party literature. Martinsson acknowledged that the SD had links to Nazi movements during its first years before transforming itself in a conventional political party during the 1990s and since the 2010s the term "radical right" is no longer accurate for the SD. Martinsson summarized that while the SD adopts populist and anti-immigration rhetoric, other parties had also adopted more restrictive stances on migration and the SD's support for welfare state policies contrasts it from other right-leaning parties while the term "right" can be used as a pejorative label as opposed to an accurate description.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fondapol.org/en/study/sweden-democrats-an-anti-immigration/ |title="Sweden Democrats:" an anti-immigration vote |access-date=2025-02-25}}</ref> Sweden-based British journalist Richard Orange noted in 2018 that the SD stands out due to its neo-Nazi roots but in the present now endorses more inclusive "cultural nationalism" over ethnic homogeny while calling for stricter immigration policies.<ref name="dw.com"/> In 2022, British political scientist [[Matthew Goodwin]] described the SD as having transformed itself from an extreme past to becoming part of a broader European family of [[Right-wing populism|national-populist]] parties which combine social and cultural conservative nationalism and populism but are opposed to fascist, anti-democratic and revolutionary ideas.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ivararpi.substack.com/p/are-we-seeing-the-return-of-fascism#details |title=Are we witnessing the return of fascism, Matt Goodwin? |date=9 October 2022 |access-date=22 January 2023}}</ref>

Within the party, the SD's leadership have rejected the extreme and "far-right" labels and argue they no longer represent the party. SD also states that its ideas are not racist and maintains that expressions of neo-fascism or Nazism among its membership are historical and no longer tolerated.<ref name="bbc.com"/> [[Oscar Sjöstedt]], the SD's financial spokesperson, places the party around the centre on the [[left–right political spectrum]],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Holmin|first=Maria|date=5 September 2018|title=Oscar Sjöstedt: SD – ett mittenparti|language=sv|work=SVT Nyheter|url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/debatt-i-aktuellt-om-lo-medlemmarna-och-sd|access-date=15 January 2021}}</ref> while leader Jimmie Åkesson has stated that they are parallel with the [[Moderate Party]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mattsson|first=Pontus|date=2 September 2018|title=ANALYS: Åkesson placerade SD sida vid sida med M|language=sv|work=SVT Nyheter|url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/akesson-placerade-sd-vid-m|access-date=15 January 2021|archive-date=3 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203215333/https://www.svt.se/nyheter/akesson-placerade-sd-vid-m|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2016 survey of SD MPs in the Riksdag analyzed the party's voting record as closer to the centre-right [[Alliance (Sweden)|Alliance]] on 44 percent of policy issues and closer to the [[Red-Greens (Sweden)|Red-Greens]] on 25 percent of issues.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fjaestad |first1=Björn |url=https://www.academia.edu/16424619 |title=Tungan på vågen: Vågmästare och balanspartier |access-date=2025-06-19}}</ref> SD group leader [[Mattias Karlsson (politician, born 1977)|Mattias Karlsson]] stated in 2017 that the party is in the middle when it comes to economic redistribution policy and views on the welfare state, but [[centre-right]] on certain values such as defense and immigration policy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/valjarna-uppfattar-sd-som-ett-hogerparti |title=Väljarna uppfattar Sverigedemokraterna som ett högerparti |date=7 July 2017 |access-date=2025-06-19}}</ref> Swedish political scientist Henrik Ekengren Oscarsson published a similar conclusion about the party's voter base in 2016 which argued SD supporters are less likely to identify with traditional political labels but align to being centrist or to the left on economic matters and conservative on other issues.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ekengrenoscarsson.com/2016/08/28/den-svenska-partirymden-2016/ |title=Den svenska partirymden 2016 |date=28 August 2016 |access-date=2025-06-19}}</ref> In addition, the SD has in recent years increasingly distanced itself from other European ultra-nationalist or far-right parties and stated it does not want anything to do with international and Swedish hard-right entities.<ref name="Rydgren" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/world/europe/europe-far-right-political-parties-listy.html|title=Europe's Rising Far Right: A Guide to the Most Prominent Parties|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=13 June 2016|access-date=21 August 2019|language=en|archive-date=21 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821152921/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/world/europe/europe-far-right-political-parties-listy.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In spite of this, a 2022 report by Swedish researchers Acta Publica claimed to have found 289 Swedish politicians who expressed racist or neo-Nazi views, with 214 of them being members of the SD.<ref name="289nazis">{{Cite web |url=https://actapublica.se/en/nyheter/rapport-ur-mylla-brun/ |title=Rapport: Ur mylla brun |work=Acta Publica |date=22 August 2022 |access-date=16 September 2022 |language=sv-SE |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920065430/https://actapublica.se/en/nyheter/rapport-ur-mylla-brun/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nazis">{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62913356 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=16 September 2022 |access-date=16 September 2022 |language=en-GB |title=Sweden election: How an ex neo-Nazi movement became kingmakers |last=Sands |first=Leo |quote=He points to a widely-reported study published last month by Swedish research group Acta Publica that claimed to have identified 289 politicians from the largest parties who had expressed views that could be deemed racist or even Nazi. |archive-date=15 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915220911/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62913356 |url-status=live }}</ref> The SD itself has argued that some of these controversies with members have been as a result of the party's rapid growth since the late 2000s rather than the party itself being extremist.<ref name="SD launches an internal glossbook"/>

==Policies and beliefs==
=== Domestic policy ===
The party is a supporter of the [[Monarchy of Sweden|Swedish monarchy]] playing a constitutional and cultural role in Swedish life, but also supports an amendment to the [[Basic Laws of Sweden|constitution]] that obligates the Riksdag to elect a new monarch in the event of there being no heir to the throne.<ref>{{cite web |title=Monarki |url=https://sd.se/our-politics/monarki/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501080832/https://sd.se/our-politics/monarki/ |archive-date=2021-05-01 |access-date=14 February 2021 |website=Sverigedemokraterna |language=sv-SE}}</ref> In 2025 the party supported changing the citizenship requirements to the conditions of being able to speak Swedish, having education about Swedish culture and having an honest way of life, as well as declaring loyalty to Sweden.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-03 |title=Åkessons besked: Invandrare måste förklara lojalitet till Sverige |url=https://www.etc.se/inrikes/aakessons-besked-invandrare-maaste-foerklara-lojalitet-till-sverige |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=Dagens ETC |language=sv}}</ref>

The Sweden Democrats have been critical of the special rights given to the indigenous [[Sámi people]] of northern Sweden. In 2008, the party accepted a motion against the rights to [[Reindeer herding|reindeer husbandry]]. They have argued that those "who do not involve themselves with reindeer husbandry are treated as second class citizens" and that the privileges the herders have are "undemocratic". The party has previously wanted to abolish the [[Sámi Parliament of Sweden|Sámi Parliament]], which it claimed special privileges for an "ethnic minority while the society claims equal rights for others". However, the SD has since disputed that it endorses abolishing the Sámi Parliament with SD spokesman [[Mattias Karlsson (politician, born 1977)|Mattias Karlsson]] saying in a 2013 interview that "the Sami are an indigenous people with an indisputable right to preserve their identity and culture."<ref>{{cite news |last=Holmström |first=Mikael |date=2 May 2008 |title=SD till attack mot renägande samer |trans-title=The Sweden Democrats on the attack against reindeer owning Sami |url=http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/sd-till-attack-mot-renagande-samer_1204465.svd |url-access=subscription |access-date=8 November 2010 |newspaper=[[Svenska Dagbladet]] |location=Karlstad |language=sv |archive-date=16 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716080151/http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/sd-till-attack-mot-renagande-samer_1204465.svd |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://expo.se/nyhet/samer-oroas-over-sds-nya-riksdagsledamot/ |title=Samer oroas över SD:s nya riksdagsledamot |date=11 March 2013 |access-date=2025-05-25}}</ref>

=== National identity and culture ===
The Sweden Democrats value a strong common national and [[cultural identity]], believing these to be the most basic cornerstones of a functioning democracy and successful society. Minimizing linguistic, cultural and religious differences in society and emphasizing a defined sense of Swedish cultural values and social norms has a positive effect on [[Social cohesion|societal cohesion]], maintaining a welfare state and encouraging solidarity among the population, according to the party. On its platform, SD states the Swedish nation is defined "in terms of loyalty, a common language and common culture". A requirement for becoming a member of the Swedish nation is to either "be born in it or by actively choosing to be a part of it". For these reasons among others, SD{{nbsp}}firmly rejects [[multiculturalism]] and argues that Sweden should preserve its cultural heritage by assimilating newcomers and maintaining Swedish as the nation's official language.<ref name=":2" />

Until the 2000s, the SD attached [[Ethnopluralism|ethnopluralist]] arguments to its defense of a Swedish homeland and culture.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:710302/FULLTEXT01.pdf |title=We are Sweden Democrats because we care for others: Exploring racisms in the Swedish extreme right |access-date=2024-02-02}}</ref> The 2005 party handbook called for a "high degree of ethnic and cultural similarity among the population"<ref name="auto13"/> while the old party platform described the need to preserve the "inherited essence" of ethnic Swedes.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/12/jimmie-akesson-who-is-the-leader-of-the-far-right-sweden-democrats |title=Jimmie Åkesson: who is the leader of the far-right Sweden Democrats? |website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |date=12 September 2022 |access-date=2024-07-17 |last1=Crouch |first1=David }}</ref> However, the SD's official platform since 2018 no longer refers to a Swedish nation and people in an ethnically defined context, but adopts a more moderate [[Cultural conservatism|cultural conservative]] policy promoting a shared national identity in which foreign-born people can become Swedish through stricter assimilation policies in exchange for citizenship and by the state asserting a more defined concept of Swedish culture and social values.<ref name="auto7">{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/in-sweden-populist-nationalists-won-on-policy-but-lost-on-politics/569968/|title=In Sweden, Populist Nationalists Won on Policy, but Lost on Politics|first=Benjamin R.|last=Teitelbaum|date=12 September 2018|website=The Atlantic|access-date=12 September 2018|archive-date=24 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124100233/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/09/in-sweden-populist-nationalists-won-on-policy-but-lost-on-politics/569968/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dw.com">{{cite news |last1=Orange |first1=Richard |title=Sweden Democrats can't shake neo-Nazi tag |url=https://www.dw.com/en/neo-nazi-background-hounds-sweden-democrats/a-45344978 |publisher=[[Deutsche Welle|DW]] |date=9 August 2019 |access-date=20 June 2023 |archive-date=20 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230620213917/https://www.dw.com/en/neo-nazi-background-hounds-sweden-democrats/a-45344978 |url-status=live }}</ref> The SD argues that not having a defined sense of what it means to be Swedish makes it harder for those of non-Western cultures to understand and become part of Swedish society. SD representatives have expressed that lacking a defined Swedish cultural identity and society will leave Sweden vulnerable to takeovers by more defined but aggressive cultures and social attitudes, with members of the party citing Islamic culture as an example. The SD has cited a strong work ethic, respect for nature, appreciation for Lutheran Christian traditions, speaking Swedish and equality between the sexes as important parts of Swedish cultural values that the country should strive to maintain.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-rise-of-sweden-democrats-and-the-end-of-swedish-exceptionalism/ |title=The Rise of Sweden Democrats: Islam, Populism and the End of Swedish Exceptionalism |access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref> Nevertheless, the idea of a binding "inherited essence" is still a defining feature of SD supporters' worldview. A 2025 study reveals that supporters of the Sweden Democrats are more likely than those of other parties to believe that social differences (e.g., talents, intelligence, behaviours) between individuals, genders, and groups reflect genetic predispositions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Morin-Chassé |first=Alexandre |date=2025-03-11 |title=Genetic Essentialism Among Supporters of Populist Radical-Right Parties: Evidence From Sweden and Norway |url=https://academic.oup.com/ijpor/article/doi/10.1093/ijpor/edae058/8069301 |journal=International Journal of Public Opinion Research |language=en |volume=37 |issue=1 |article-number=edae058 |doi=10.1093/ijpor/edae058 |issn=1471-6909}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Morin-Chassé |first=Alexandre |date=2025-05-14 |title=It's the Genes, Stupid! The Views of Far-Right Supporters on Genetics and Social Outcomes |url=https://www.sv.uio.no/c-rex/english/news-and-events/right-now/2025/it-s-the-genes-stupid!-the-views-of-far-right-supp.html |publisher=RightNow! Blog of the C-REX - Center for Research on Extremism}}</ref>

In a 2014 interview for ''[[Dagens Nyheter]]'', Second Deputy Speaker of the Riksdag and then-party secretary [[Björn Söder]] elaborated on the SD{{nbsp}}party programme with respect to its views on national identity and obtaining Swedish citizenship by saying that although an immigrant of any ethnic background in theory can become a Swedish citizen, they would have to adapt and be [[Cultural assimilation|assimilated]] in order to be considered Swedish in the cultural sense, since the SD does not view a simple acquisition of Swedish citizenship with no assimilation requirements as the same as becoming part of Swedish society.<ref name="Den leende nationalismen">{{cite news |date=14 December 2014 |title=Den leende nationalismen |url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/den-leende-nationalismen/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308045119/https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/den-leende-nationalismen/ |archive-date=2017-03-08 |access-date=27 December 2014 |work=Dagens Nyheter |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=23 April 2014 |title=Sverigedemokraternas Principprogram 2011 |url=https://sverigedemokraterna.se/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/principprogrammet2014_webb.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606214930/https://sverigedemokraterna.se/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/principprogrammet2014_webb.pdf |archive-date=2014-06-06 |access-date=1 January 2015 |publisher=The Sweden Democrats |page=15 |language=sv}}</ref> In the interview, Söder stated that the officially recognised Swedish minority peoples such as [[Sámi peoples|Sámi]], [[Tornedalians]] and [[History of the Jews in Sweden|Jews]] in many cases had dual cultural identities and that they probably would be proud of both heritages, and claimed that while these minorities are part of Sweden today, they had to give up part of their own culture in the past to integrate and become culturally Swedish.<ref name="Den leende nationalismen" /> It was widely interpreted that Söder had stated in the interview that Jews cannot be Swedish unless they abandon their Jewish identity.<ref>{{cite web|author=David Crouch|title=Swedish far-right leader: Jews must abandon religious identity to be Swedes|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/17/swedish-far-right-leader-jews-swedes|access-date=24 February 2015|work=the Guardian|date=17 December 2014|archive-date=23 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223104117/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/17/swedish-far-right-leader-jews-swedes|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=18 December 2014|title=Far-right Swedish leader: Jews have dual identities and can therefor not be truly Swedish, but that it wouldn't necessarily be a negative thing|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/1.632496|access-date=24 February 2015|work=[[Haaretz.com]]|archive-date=10 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310181559/http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/1.632496|url-status=live}}</ref> Söder's comments were accused of being antisemitic and caused Swedish parliamentary groups and party leaders to call for his resignation.<ref>{{cite news|date=15 December 2014|title=Partiernas krav på Björn Söder: Avgå som talman|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/partiernas-krav-pa-bjorn-soder-avga-som-talman/|access-date=27 December 2014|newspaper=[[Dagens Nyheter]]|language=sv|archive-date=16 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416023755/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/partiernas-krav-pa-bjorn-soder-avga-som-talman/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Simon Wiesenthal Center]] listed the statement as number six on their list of the top ten most anti-semitic events of 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=2014 Top Ten Worst Global Anti-Semitic/Anti-Israel Incidents|url=http://www.wiesenthal.com/atf/cf/%7B54d385e6-f1b9-4e9f-8e94-890c3e6dd277%7D/TOP-TEN_2014_FINAL-12-31.PDF|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020121332/http://www.wiesenthal.com/atf/cf/%7B54d385e6-f1b9-4e9f-8e94-890c3e6dd277%7D/TOP-TEN_2014_FINAL-12-31.PDF|archive-date=20 October 2017|access-date=6 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Söders uttalande bland de tio värsta under 2014|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/soders-uttalande-bland-de-tio-varsta-under-2014/|access-date=24 February 2015|work=[[Dagens Nyheter]]|date=6 January 2015|archive-date=13 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113072641/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/soders-uttalande-bland-de-tio-varsta-under-2014/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Söder sexa bland antijudiska händelser|url=http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/soder-sexa-bland-antijudiska-handelser/|access-date=20 June 2015|work=Expressen|date=6 January 2015|archive-date=4 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704050923/http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/soder-sexa-bland-antijudiska-handelser/|url-status=live}}</ref> Söder responded in an article for ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'', denying the charges of anti-semitism and claiming ''Dagens Nyheter'' had taken his statements out of context. In response, the SD also stated that it rejects antisemitism in Sweden and supports Israel in foreign policy, and that its proposed assimilation model is based on recognizing the difference between the concept of nationhood and acquired citizenship as opposed to implying minorities have split loyalties.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sweden Democrats reject anti-Semitism|url=https://www.jpost.com/landedpages/printarticle.aspx?id=386751|access-date=4 November 2015|work=[[Jpost.com]]|archive-date=9 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109091817/http://www.jpost.com/landedpages/printarticle.aspx?id=386751|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Sweden Democrats advocates a cultural policy that would strip government funding for multicultural initiatives and strengthen support for traditional Swedish culture. This agenda has often manifested itself as opposition to state funding of immigrant cultural organisations and festivals, and more support for traditional Swedish craft, folk music, and folk dance groups. The party also tends to oppose state support for cultural initiatives deemed provocative or elitist.<ref name="Teitelbaum 2013">{{Cite thesis |last=Teitelbaum |first=Benjamin R. |title='Come Hear Our Merry Song': Shifts in the Sound of Contemporary Swedish Radical Nationalism |date=2013 |access-date=30 August 2024 |degree=PhD |publisher=[[Brown University]] |url=https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:320631/ |pages=242–265 |archive-date=30 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240830192236/https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:320631/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2014 letter signed by 52{{nbsp}}Swedish anthropologists, criticised the Sweden Democrats' use of the terms "culture" (''kultur'' {{IPA|sv|kɵlˈtʉːr||Sv-Kultur.ogg}}) and "anthropology" (''antropologi'' {{IPA|sv|antrɔpʊlʊˈɡiː||Sv-Antropologi.ogg}}), claiming their views on culture were "[[Gender essentialism|essentialist]] and obsolete", clarifying that culture is "dynamic" and "in constant change".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Garsten |first1=Christina |last2=Nilsson |first2=Erik |last3=Finnström |first3=Sverker |last4=Höjdestrand |first4=Tove |date=18 December 2014 |title=Sverigedemokraterna misstolkar begreppet kultur |trans-title=The Sweden Democrats misunderstands the concept of culture |url=http://www.svt.se/opinion/sverigedemokraterna-misstolkar-begreppet-kultur |publisher=[[Sveriges Television]] |language=sv |access-date=24 July 2015 |archive-date=25 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725013740/http://www.svt.se/opinion/sverigedemokraterna-misstolkar-begreppet-kultur |url-status=live }}</ref> The Sweden Democrats themselves maintain that traditional elements of Sweden's culture should not be rendered obsolete in favour of multiculturalism and argue Swedish cultural values contributed to the nation's economic and social successes through the "people's home" (''[[Folkhemmet]]'') concept. According to scholar Bo Nilsson, the party links the adoption of multicultural policies with a subsequent decline in the ''Folkhemmet'' model and Sweden's success.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nilsson |first1=Bo |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13527258.2022.2042718#d1e340 |title=An ideology-critical examination of the cultural heritage policies of the Sweden Democrats |journal=International Journal of Heritage Studies |date=2022 |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=622–634 |doi=10.1080/13527258.2022.2042718 |access-date=2025-03-25}}</ref>

The party has expressed opposition to certain forms of modern architecture and in 2022 called for new housing to reflect traditional architectural styles, with the SD supporting more investment and streamlined planning permission rules into building new homes designed to match the specifications of what the party calls the "Sverigehuset" (the Sweden House), a classic wooden house design in Sweden. In 2025, the SD proposed to the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning to build more affordable housing in traditional designs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20250527/why-the-sverigehus-is-a-warning-for-the-sweden-democrats-future?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=ASWzDAiSyM63OYpof2sXIxLsQ98SShYk9SJMAK8JjP1GhltdiJaA2FdOVd2m&gaa_ts=6839fbd1&gaa_sig=8XjGlDsLJ-1kzozoOcCTrkSLcwyfzOSP2_usclGa4zKFX9tQ1hVoY0RyzG3XmLniWIjmlwElBBUb9__4czxF_A%3D%3D |title=Why the 'Sverigehus' is a warning for the Sweden Democrats' future |date=27 May 2025 |access-date=2025-05-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://swedenherald.com/article/national-board-to-investigate-sweden-democrats-house-of-sweden-plan |title=Sweden House Model Proposed for Easier Building Without Permits |access-date=2025-05-29}}</ref>

The Sweden Democrats also criticise modern art, and have accused local councils of wasting public money on what it calls "provocative" art.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2020/11/26/how-long-will-swedens-nationalists-be-excluded-from-power|title=How long will Sweden's nationalists be excluded from power?|date=26 November 2020|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|access-date=26 February 2021|archive-date=26 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226125458/https://www.economist.com/europe/2020/11/26/how-long-will-swedens-nationalists-be-excluded-from-power|url-status=live}}</ref> The SD want citizens to be able to vote in local referendums on public art displayed near schools, public transport stations and town centres. "The important thing is that what is expressed in the public environment is anchored to the citizens and especially the local residents who are most often in the environment so that they feel an identification", says the party's cultural spokesperson [[Aron Emilsson]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/sverigedemokraterna-vill-byta-ut-konsten-i-slussens-tunnelbana|title=Sverigedemokraterna vill byta ut konsten i Slussens tunnelbana|date=23 August 2018|newspaper=SVT Nyheter|access-date=7 December 2018|last1=Elliott|first1=Katia|archive-date=29 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029232429/https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/sverigedemokraterna-vill-byta-ut-konsten-i-slussens-tunnelbana|url-status=live}}</ref> Sweden Democrats mayor in [[Sölvesborg]] [[Louise Erixon]] claimed "There's a big division between what the general public thinks is beautiful and interesting and what a tiny cultural elite thinks is exciting".<ref>{{cite web |last=Orange |first=Richard |date=2019-10-29 |title=Swedish town bans 'provocative' art |url=https://www.dw.com/en/swedish-far-right-town-bans-provocative-public-art/a-51037702 |access-date=30 August 2024 |website=[[Deutsche Welle|DW]] |archive-date=1 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240401020852/https://www.dw.com/en/swedish-far-right-town-bans-provocative-public-art/a-51037702 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Sweden Democrats also support a ban on the [[burqa]] and [[niqāb]] in public places and are against proposals to publicly broadcast the Islamic call to prayer from [[minaret]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/sweden-allows-call-to-prayer-from-stockholm-minaret-41669|title=Sweden allows call to prayer from Stockholm minaret – World News|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=22 February 2013|access-date=26 February 2021|archive-date=9 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509025240/https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/sweden-allows-call-to-prayer-from-stockholm-minaret-41669|url-status=live}}</ref> The SD wants tougher enforcement of existing laws against [[female genital mutilation]], honor violence and social segregation. The party also wants Swedish to remain Sweden's main official language in state funded schools, government agencies and public funded media, and for more teaching of Swedish cultural history in schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://samtiden.nu/2018/06/efter-danmark-och-norge-sd-valkomnar-burkaforbud/|title=Efter Danmark och Norge: SD välkomnar burkaförbud|date=7 June 2018|website=Samtiden.nu|access-date=7 December 2018|archive-date=30 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030035403/https://samtiden.nu/2018/06/efter-danmark-och-norge-sd-valkomnar-burkaforbud/|url-status=live}}</ref> It also supports prohibiting the [[hijab]] in primary schools, arguing that while it is not opposed to hijabs in general, the choice to wear it should be made on an individual basis when a child reaches adulthood.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.thelocal.se/20190613/swedish-council-bans-staff-from-praying-at-work-sweden-democrats-bromolla-skane| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190613095429/https://www.thelocal.se/20190613/swedish-council-bans-staff-from-praying-at-work-sweden-democrats-bromolla-skane| archive-date = 13 June 2019| title = Sweden Democrat council bans staff from praying at work – The Local}}</ref> The SD is strongly opposed to [[Sharia|sharia law]] being incorporated into the Swedish legal system.<ref name="brookings">{{cite web |author=Tomson |first=Danielle Lee |date=25 March 2020 |title=The Rise of Sweden Democrats: Islam, Populism and the End of Swedish Exceptionalism |url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-rise-of-sweden-democrats-and-the-end-of-swedish-exceptionalism/ |access-date=20 November 2021 |publisher=Brookings.edu |archive-date=27 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327042822/https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-rise-of-sweden-democrats-and-the-end-of-swedish-exceptionalism/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Leading party representatives have also spoken out in various contexts against mosques and Islamic centres in Sweden.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hd.se/landskrona/2009/07/31/riskerar-uteslutning-fraan/ |title=Riskerar uteslutning från Sverigedemokraterna |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806120323/http://hd.se/landskrona/2009/07/31/riskerar-uteslutning-fraan/ |access-date=31 January 2024|archive-date=6 August 2011 }}</ref> In 2023, SD leader [[Jimmie Åkesson]] argued that Swedish mosques which preach "anti-democratic, anti-Swedish, homophobic, anti-Semitic propaganda" should be closed and demolished and expressed opposition to the construction of new Islamic buildings. SD has also argued that other Swedish parties, particularly those on the left such as the [[Swedish Social Democratic Party|Social Democrats]] are tolerant of Islamist activities in Sweden to secure votes at the expense of Swedish culture and security.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20231127/sweden-democrat-leader-calls-for-mosques-to-be-demolished |title=Sweden Democrat leader calls for mosques to be demolished |date=27 November 2023 |access-date=2025-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.euronews.com/2023/11/27/swedens-prime-minister-condemns-far-right-call-to-demolish-mosques |title=Sweden's prime minister condemns far-right call to demolish mosques |date=27 November 2023 |access-date=2025-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/swedish-pm-ulf-kristersson-slams-far-right-party-leader-for-suggesting-mosques-should-be-demolished/ |website=[[Politico]] |first=Claudia |last=Chiappa |title=Swedish PM rebukes far-right leader who said mosques should be flattened |date=27 November 2023 |access-date=2024-08-11 |archive-date=23 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223144305/https://www.politico.eu/article/swedish-pm-ulf-kristersson-slams-far-right-party-leader-for-suggesting-mosques-should-be-demolished/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="brookings" /> In January 2024, [[Richard Jomshof]], chairman of the Justice Committee in the Riksdag, ignited controversy in Sweden by proposing the prohibition of the Islamic [[star and crescent]].<ref>{{Cite news |first=Adrian |last=Ericson |date=2024-01-22 |title=Jomshof: Förbjud halvmånar likt hakkors |trans-title=Jomshof: Ban crescents like swasticas |url=https://www.svd.se/a/4o9rPV/jomshof-forbjud-halvmanar-offentligt |access-date=2024-01-24 |work=[[Svenska Dagbladet]] |language=sv |issn=1101-2412 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=26 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326110519/https://www.svd.se/a/4o9rPV/jomshof-forbjud-halvmanar-offentligt |url-status=live }}</ref> He drew parallels to the ban on the [[Swastika]], claiming that both symbols represent something dangerous.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Johannes |last=Nilsson |date=2024-01-23 |title=C rasar mot Jomshof: 'Hatpredikan' |trans-title=C rages against Jomshof: 'Hate speech' |url=https://nyheteridag.se/c-rasar-mot-jomshof-hatpredikan/ |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=[[Nyheter Idag]] |language=sv |archive-date=17 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240317092825/https://nyheteridag.se/c-rasar-mot-jomshof-hatpredikan/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Niklas |last=Svahn |date=2024-01-22 |title=Jomshof: Förbjud halvmånar likt hakkors |trans-title=Jomshof: Ban crescents like swasticas |language=sv |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/O8vlVl |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=[[Aftonbladet]] }}</ref>

==== Immigration ====
The Sweden Democrats believe that [[Immigration to Sweden|Sweden's recent immigration]] and integration policies have been a national failure. In a statement filed before the [[Riksdag]] Committee on Migration in August 2020, SD claims that Sweden's "irresponsible" immigration and asylum policies have subjected Sweden to an on-going "long-term, albeit low-intensity crisis".<ref name=":1">{{cite web|last=|first=|date=13 August 2020|title=Särskilt yttrande av Sverigedemokraterna i Migrationskommitténs slutbetänkande En långsiktigt hållbar migrationspolitik|trans-title=Special statement by the Sweden Democrats in the Migration Committee's final report "A long-term sustainable migration policy"|url=https://ratatosk.sd.se/sd/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/13092823/sarskilt_yttrande_migrationskommitten-1.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004230733/https://ratatosk.sd.se/sd/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/13092823/sarskilt_yttrande_migrationskommitten-1.pdf|archive-date=4 October 2020|access-date=15 January 2021|website=|publisher=Sweden Democrats}}</ref> The SD official policy brief states that the party "welcomes those who contribute to our [Sweden's] society, who follow our laws and respect our customs. On the other hand, anyone who comes here and exploits our systems, commits crimes or exposes our citizens to danger is not welcome".<ref>{{cite web|title=Vår politik|url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/|access-date=15 January 2021|website=Sverigedemokraterna|language=sv-SE|archive-date=22 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622211421/https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Historically, SD sought to repatriate most immigrants and ban immigration entirely; however, these policies were moderated in the 1990s before being abolished altogether.<ref name="auto6"/> Presently, SD positions itself against [[mass immigration]] and wishes to strongly restrict immigration by instead giving generous support to those who do not want to assimilate into Swedish society to emigrate back to their country of origin. The SD also wants to change laws to allow for wider deportations of foreign residents who engage in illegal activity or are unemployed and abusing state welfare.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sd.se/vad-vi-vill/en-strikt-invandringspolitik/ |title=En strikt Invandringspolitik |access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref> The Sweden Democrats also call for an expansion of circumstances in which citizenship can be revoked from naturalized citizens, with Jimmie Åkesson mentioning examples of those who commit crimes, engage in delinquency, support terrorism or remain socially unintegrated into society.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Svahn |first=Niklas |date=2023-11-09 |title=SD: Återkalla medborgarskap i fler fall |trans-title=SD: Revoke citizenship in more cases |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/dwW2Lz/sd-aterkalla-medborgarskap-i-fler-fall |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=[[Aftonbladet]] |language=sv |agency=[[TT News Agency|TT]]}}</ref> The Sweden Democrats also support raising the [[remigration]] allowance given to migrants and asylum seekers who seek to voluntarily leave the country.<ref>{{cite news|work=Euractiv|title=Swedish coalition divided over remigration allowance|date=10 September 2024|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/swedish-coalition-divided-over-remigration-allowance/}}</ref> The SD argues that its immigration policies are not based on xenophobia and that the party is not opposed to immigration per se, but believe immigration must stay at a level where it does not "threaten national identity, the country's welfare or security".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sd.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/sverigedemokraternas-principprogram-2019.pdf |title=Principprogram |access-date=2024-02-02 |archive-date=24 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240324201114/https://sd.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/sverigedemokraternas-principprogram-2019.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> SD has also campaigned to restrict immigration from what it calls "culturally distant" countries and argues that temporary work visas should be limited only to skills that are impossible to find in Sweden.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sverigedemokraternaspartiprogram.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/sverigedemokraterna-invandringspolitiskt-program/ |title=Immigration policy action program |date=23 August 2010 |access-date=2024-02-02 |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406030308/https://sverigedemokraternaspartiprogram.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/sverigedemokraterna-invandringspolitiskt-program/ |url-status=live }}</ref> SD are against [[Freedom of movement for workers in the European Union|free movement of labour]] within the European Union, calling on Sweden to revise its membership of the [[Schengen agreement]], but support free movement between [[Nordic countries|Nordic nations]].<ref name="auto13"/> The SD believes that Sweden will be better able to help [[refugee]]s and economic migrants in their home areas once more state funds are freed from being directed towards funding immigration in Sweden.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/sd-vill-satsa-mer-pa-bistand-an-regeringen/|title=SD vill satsa på mer bistånd än regeringen|work=Expressen|access-date=29 October 2017|language=sv|archive-date=16 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916195559/http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/sd-vill-satsa-mer-pa-bistand-an-regeringen/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/migrationspolitik/|title=Migrationspolitik|access-date=22 December 2020|archive-date=22 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522133348/https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/migrationspolitik/|url-status=dead}}</ref> SD also favours cultural assimilation over integration of immigrants from non-Western backgrounds, arguing that integration is a meet in the middle approach and that Swedes should not have to bear the burden over what the party claims have been reckless immigration policies. {{ill|Torbjörn Kastell|sv}} (former party secretary from 2003 to 2004) said in 2002 that the party wanted "a multicultural world, not a multicultural society".<ref name="autogenerated10" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/business/sweden-economy-immigration.html|title=The Nordic Model May Be the Best Cushion Against Capitalism. Can It Survive Immigration? (Published 2019)|first=Peter S.|last=Goodman|newspaper=The New York Times|date=11 July 2019|access-date=7 March 2021|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308223333/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/business/sweden-economy-immigration.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

When handling asylum seekers and refugee cases, the SD supports protecting [[Nation state|national sovereignty]] in regards to Sweden's decisions on migration and border control. The party calls for Sweden to adopt "the principle of first safe country" into its asylum laws, meaning that asylum seekers should only be able to seek refugee status in the first safe country that they arrive in and will be refused refugee status in Sweden if they have already crossed multiple safe countries or their case is already registered in a foreign state.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sd.se/vad-vi-vill/myter-om-invandring/ |title=Myter om invandring |access-date=2025-02-13}}</ref> Until such legislation is realized by the Riksdag, SD supports implementing stronger deterrents against asylum migration to Sweden through other countries and setting stricter limits on the right to welfare that asylum seekers are entitled to by the Swedish state and making cultural assimilation of those already in Sweden mandatory. The party opposes offering [[permanent residency]] to refugees, believing that temporary residency should be the standard for those who claim asylum in Sweden before a path to full residency or citizenship is considered. SD supports Sweden eventually accepting refugees exclusively through the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]] resettlement programme in accordance with a quota based on each [[Municipalities of Sweden|municipality]]'s capacity once Sweden's asylum laws are reformed and tightened.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=3 May 2020|title=Asylinvandring|url=https://sd.se/our-politics/asylinvandring/|access-date=15 January 2021|website=Sverigedemokraterna|language=sv-SE|archive-date=19 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119104914/https://sd.se/our-politics/asylinvandring/|url-status=dead}}</ref> SD has also referred to the recommendations from the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] (UNHCR), which state that the return of refugees should be the solution to refugee problems.<ref name="autogenerated10" /> On asylum cases from the Middle East and Africa, the party supports giving priority to persecuted Christian, former Muslim and other religious or sexual minorities fleeing war or death for apostasy, believing that such individuals are less likely to be offered refuge elsewhere.<ref name="auto4">{{Cite web |title=Utrikespolitik |trans-title=Foreign policy |url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/utrikespolitik/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914202545/https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/utrikespolitik/ |archive-date=14 September 2021 |access-date=5 March 2021 |website=Sverigdemokraterna}}</ref> In 2017, members of the Sweden Democrats' leadership defended comments made by then US President [[Donald Trump]] in response to Trump's assertion that Sweden's immigration and asylum policies had led to a rise of terrorism and crime in Sweden.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-is-right-swedens-embrace-of-refugees-isnt-working-1487807010| title = Trump Is Right: Sweden's Embrace of Refugees Isn't Working – WSJ| newspaper = [[The Wall Street Journal|Wall Street Journal]]| date = 22 February 2017| access-date = 2 November 2021| archive-date = 23 February 2017| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170223071341/https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-is-right-swedens-embrace-of-refugees-isnt-working-1487807010| url-status = live}}</ref> However, following the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] the SD supported accepting and accommodating Ukrainian refugees in Sweden.<ref name="rmx.news">{{cite web |url=https://rmx.news/crime/sweden-democrats-want-to-stop-asylum-for-everyone-except-ukrainians/ |title=Sweden Democrats want to stop asylum for everyone except Ukrainians |date=14 March 2022 |access-date=19 September 2022 |archive-date=17 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220917115248/https://rmx.news/crime/sweden-democrats-want-to-stop-asylum-for-everyone-except-ukrainians/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Ahead of the [[2022 Swedish general election]], the party campaigned to tighten the rules in the Swedish Aliens Act ({{interlanguage link|Utlänningslagen|sv}}) to the strictest possible level within European law and encourage voluntary [[remigration]] of asylum seekers and immigrants who are economically inactive or remain culturally unassimilated.<ref name="auto1"/>

The SD also wants European governments to construct a security wall along the European border with Turkey in response to illegal immigration, terrorism and incursions by the [[Grey Wolves (organization)|Grey Wolves]] into Greece. It also calls on the European Union to commonly adopt a migration system based on the [[Operation Sovereign Borders|Australian model]] to prevent human trafficking across the Mediterranean, which the party states enables illegal immigrants and terrorists to reach Sweden.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nyheteridag.se/charlie-weimers-sd-eu-behover-bygga-murar-mot-erdogans-turkiet/|title=Charlie Weimers (SD): EU behöver bygga murar mot Erdogans Turkiet|date=4 March 2020|access-date=19 February 2021|archive-date=8 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108142845/https://nyheteridag.se/charlie-weimers-sd-eu-behover-bygga-murar-mot-erdogans-turkiet/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.neweurope.eu/article/bureaucratic-hubris-the-commissions-2020-2027-integration-action-plan-is-set-to-replicate-swedens-failure/|title=Bureaucratic hubris: The Commission's 2020–2027 integration action plan is set to replicate Sweden's failure|first=Nicholas|last=Waller|date=17 February 2021|access-date=19 February 2021|archive-date=19 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219113648/https://www.neweurope.eu/article/bureaucratic-hubris-the-commissions-2020-2027-integration-action-plan-is-set-to-replicate-swedens-failure|url-status=dead}}</ref> SD calls for compulsory measures for immigrants to be employed, live and work in Sweden for at least ten years, learn the [[Swedish language]], go through a mandatory cultural assimilation program, and be subject to a language and social skills test before becoming eligible for Swedish citizenship.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thelocal.se/20150701/swedish-should-be-spoken-in-the-workplace|title=Swedish should be spoken in Sweden|work=thelocal|access-date=13 March 2020|language=en|archive-date=18 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918145730/http://www.thelocal.se/20150701/swedish-should-be-spoken-in-the-workplace|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto1"/> The party also supports increased spending on border patrol forces, [[zero tolerance]] laws on illegal immigration and foreign-born criminals, repatriations of [[Schengen Area]] migrants who move to Sweden to make a living from street begging, changes in the law to enable the government to strip foreign-born Swedish nationals of their citizenship if found guilty of a crime, penalties against employers who use foreign and undocumented labor to circumvent Swedish working conditions and stricter laws against family migration.<ref name="auto1"/>

In recent years, the SD{{nbsp}}has tried to approach the immigration policies of the [[Danish People's Party]], which from 2001 to 2011 provided parliamentary support for the former Danish centre-right governments in return for a tightening of Danish immigration policies and stricter naturalisation laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.klassekampen.no/46003/article/item/null |title=Vil kopiere Dansk Folkeparti |publisher=Klassekampen |date=21 May 2007 |access-date=8 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929232041/http://www.klassekampen.no/46003/article/item/null |archive-date=29 September 2011 }}</ref> Following the [[2022 Swedish general election]], the Sweden Democrats achieved this objective under the [[Tidö Agreement]] with the centre-right Moderate, Christian Democrat and Liberal Party coalition government.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20221121/explained-is-sweden-planning-to-withdraw-permanent-residency |title=EXPLAINED: What do we know about Sweden's plans to withdraw permanent residency? |date=21 November 2022 |access-date=28 October 2023 |archive-date=28 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028223033/https://www.thelocal.se/20221121/explained-is-sweden-planning-to-withdraw-permanent-residency |url-status=live }}</ref> In exchange for SD parliamentary support, the Swedish government conceded to some of the SD's immigration policy demands on requirements for obtaining Swedish citizenship and expanding the deportation circumstances for foreign-born residents and asylum seekers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://behorizon.org/dissecting-the-new-swedish-migration-policy/ |title=Dissecting the New Swedish Migration Policy |date=14 November 2022 |access-date=28 October 2023 |archive-date=28 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028223033/https://behorizon.org/dissecting-the-new-swedish-migration-policy/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following scenes of people in Swedish cities celebrating the [[October 7 attacks]], the SD leadership stated that those who praised the attack should be expelled from the country and that the Tidö Agreement clause on deporting non-citizens on grounds of poor character and not just criminal convictions should be used against those who support [[Hamas]]. SD also states that Swedes of foreign backgrounds who leave the country to join legally designated terrorist groups should be stripped of their citizenship or residency and denied re-entry into the country.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/a/zE2lqb/akesson-borde-kunna-utvisa-de-som-hyllar-hamas |title=Åkesson: Should be able to deport those who praise Hamas |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |date=10 October 2023 |access-date=25 October 2023 |archive-date=26 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026194555/https://www.svd.se/a/zE2lqb/akesson-borde-kunna-utvisa-de-som-hyllar-hamas |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Society and crime ===
====Family policy====
The Sweden Democrats consider children raised in a [[nuclear family]] as the preferred option for the child's development. Those not raised by their biological parents should have the right to associate with or at least find out who they were. SD has been critical of adoption and [[artificial insemination]] for same-sex couples and [[Polyamory|polyamorous]] people.<ref>{{cite web |last=Voss |first=Jon |date=2015-11-28 |title=SD behåller krav på förbud för adoption och insemination |url=https://www.qx.se/samhalle/30016/sd-behaller-krav-pa-forbud-for-adoption-och-insemination/ |access-date=16 January 2021 |website=[[QX (magazine)|QX]] |language=sv-SE |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122235016/https://www.qx.se/samhalle/30016/sd-behaller-krav-pa-forbud-for-adoption-och-insemination/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The party also calls for a ban on child, polygamous and [[forced marriage]]s, as well as harsher penalties for [[Honor killing|honor violence]]. It also supports a zero-tolerance stance against [[female genital mutilation]] within Sweden and abroad, and for perpetrators to be prosecuted or if necessary deported.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/familjepolitik/|title=Familjepolitik|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501050653/https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/familjepolitik/|archive-date=1 May 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref> SD also wants certain restrictions on [[Circumcision|male circumcision]], calling for a ban on minors unless its for medical reasons. The party says that while it does support male circumcision for religious reasons, it should be performed at the age of consent and the state should not fund it through the healthcare system.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sd.se/ |title=Det här vill vi |access-date=2024-02-18 |archive-date=8 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908210848/https://sd.se/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Canhasi |first1=Britt-Mari |last2=Yurkovskiy |first2=Leonid |date=2021-03-01 |title=SD-politiker om omskärelse: Ge barn rätt till sin egen kropp |trans-title=SD politicians about circumcision: Give children right to their own body |url=https://www.altinget.se/artikel/sd-politiker-om-omskarelse-ge-barn-ratt-till-sin-egen-kropp |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=Altinget.se |archive-date=10 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240910222842/https://www.altinget.se/artikel/sd-politiker-om-omskarelse-ge-barn-ratt-till-sin-egen-kropp |url-status=live }}</ref>

SD supports [[abortion]] being legal in Sweden and free access to abortions up to the legal limit in Sweden which is 22 weeks since 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lantz |first=Daniel |date=2022-07-22 |title=SD står starkt bakom svensk abortlagstiftning |url=https://www.sdkvinnor.se/sd-star-starkt-bakom-svensk-abortlagstiftning/ |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=SD-kvinnor |language=sv-SE}}</ref>

==== LGBT rights ====
The SD previously opposed government sanctioned adoption to single people and same-sex couples, unless the adopting party are close relatives or already have a close relationship with the child, but has since shifted its stance to permitting [[same-sex adoption]], and supports privately funded insemination for single or gay parents. Historically, members of SD have criticized a so-called "[[Gay Mafia|Homosex Lobby]]", but the party has since changed and moderated its position on LGBT in Swedish society. Party leader Jimmie Åkesson has expressed concerns that what he describes as the gradual [[Spread of Islam|Islamisation]] of Sweden will eventually lead to the rights of [[Sexual minority|sexual minorities]] being violated.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brandel |first1=Tobias |date=28 July 2010 |title=SD siktar in sig på hbt-röster |trans-title=SD targets LGBT voices |url=http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/sd-siktar-in-sig-pa-hbt-roster_5054837.svd |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 February 2015 |work=[[Svenska Dagbladet]] |language=sv |archive-date=18 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141118043113/http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/sd-siktar-in-sig-pa-hbt-roster_5054837.svd |url-status=live }}</ref>

Throughout the early 2000s, ''SD-Kuriren'' (the official SD party newspaper) regularly published articles criticizing LGBT events and describing homosexuality as "perversion", before moderating itself alongside a shift in party ideology.<ref>{{cite web |last=Söder |first=Björn |author-link=Björn Söder |date=3 August 2007 |title=Präster från Svenska Kyrkan deltar i homosexevenemang |trans-title=Priests from the Church of Sweden participates in gay sex event |url=http://www.sdkuriren.se/blog/index.php/soder/2007/08/03/praster_fran_svenska_kyrkan_deltar_pa_ho |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109003220/http://www.sdkuriren.se/blog/index.php/soder/2007/08/03/praster_fran_svenska_kyrkan_deltar_pa_ho<!—Manually retrieved archive—> |archive-date=9 November 2007 |access-date=9 November 2010 |publisher=SD-Kuriren |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Söder |first=Björn |author-link=Björn Söder |date=3 August 2007 |title=Homosexlobbyn kräver, och homosexlobbyn får |trans-title=The gay sex lobby demands, and the gay sex lobby receives |url=http://www.sdkuriren.se/blog/index.php/soder/2007/08/03/homosexlobbyn_kraver_och_homosexlobbyn_f |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109003023/http://www.sdkuriren.se/blog/index.php/soder/2007/08/03/homosexlobbyn_kraver_och_homosexlobbyn_f<!—Manually retrieved archive—> |archive-date=9 November 2007 |access-date=9 November 2010 |publisher=SD-Kuriren |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Söder |first=Björn |author-link=Björn Söder |date=5 August 2007 |title=Kulmen nådd på perversiteterna |trans-title=The peak of the perversions reached |url=http://www.sdkuriren.se/blog/index.php/soder/2007/08/05/kulmen_nadd_pa_perversiteterna |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109003047/http://www.sdkuriren.se/blog/index.php/soder/2007/08/05/kulmen_nadd_pa_perversiteterna<!—Manually retrieved archive—> |archive-date=9 November 2007 |access-date=9 November 2010 |publisher=SD-Kuriren |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Söder |first=Björn |author-link=Björn Söder |date=5 August 2007 |title=Att kritisera det okritiserbara |trans-title=To criticise the uncriticisable |url=http://www.sdkuriren.se/blog/index.php/soder/2007/08/05/att_kritisera_det_okritiserbara |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109003255/http://www.sdkuriren.se/blog/index.php/soder/2007/08/05/att_kritisera_det_okritiserbara<!—Manually retrieved archive—> |archive-date=9 November 2007 |access-date=9 November 2010 |publisher=SD-Kuriren |language=sv}}</ref> A blog post claiming [[Stockholm Pride]] sexualised young children and [[Societal attitudes toward homosexuality#Association with child sexual abuse and pedophilia|equating homosexuality with pedophilia]] titled {{Lang|sv|Botten måste snart vara nådd}} ("Soon enough we'll hit rock bottom") was published by SD Party secretary [[Björn Söder]] on 1 August 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sdkuriren.se/blog/index.php/soder/2007/08/01/botten_maste_snart_vara_nadd|title=Botten måste snart vara nådd|publisher=SD-Kuriren|date=1 August 2007|access-date=9 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109002951/http://www.sdkuriren.se/blog/index.php/soder/2007/08/01/botten_maste_snart_vara_nadd<!—Manually retrieved archive—>|archive-date=9 November 2007|language=sv}}</ref> The post was widely criticised in the Swedish media as an attack on LGBT people.<ref>{{cite news |date=5 August 2007 |title=Hat-attacken mot Sveriges homosexuella |trans-title=The hateful attack against Sweden's homosexuals |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/l1nya9/hat-attacken-mot-sveriges-homosexuella |access-date=16 August 2010 |newspaper=Aftonbladet |language=sv |archive-date=14 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814114704/https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/l1nya9/hat-attacken-mot-sveriges-homosexuella |url-status=live }}</ref>

An unofficial [[pride parade]] called Pride Järva was organised by SD member and former party magazine editor Jan Sjunnesson in the Stockholm suburbs of [[Tensta]] and [[Husby, Stockholm|Husby]], two areas with large immigrant populations.<ref>{{cite news |title=Swedish Nationalists Plan Gay 'Pride' March Through Muslim Areas of Stockholm |url=https://www.haaretz.com/rightist-swedes-plan-gay-march-through-muslim-areas-of-stockholm-1.5378770 |access-date=27 January 2019 |work=[[Haaretz]] |date=25 July 2015 |language=en}}</ref> The event was disavowed by the official Stockholm Pride organisation and the [[Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights]]; in a joint statement, both organisations called Sjunnesson "a person who's spreading hatred towards Muslims on social media [and] who's not supporting LGBT rights".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Naib |first1=Fatima |title=Sweden far-right plans gay parade in mainly Muslim area |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/07/sweden-farright-plans-gay-pride-muslim-area-lgbt-150728180328656.html |access-date=27 January 2019 |work=[[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]] |date=28 July 2015 |archive-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128082846/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/07/sweden-farright-plans-gay-pride-muslim-area-lgbt-150728180328656.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Montelius |first1=Martina |title=Homonationalism – det rosa kriget |url=https://www.expressen.se/kultur/homonationalism—det-rosa-kriget/ |access-date=27 January 2019 |work=Expressen |date=14 April 2017 |language=sv |archive-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128082748/https://www.expressen.se/kultur/homonationalism—det-rosa-kriget/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Approximately 30 people participated in Pride Järva, with a larger amount of LGBT and heterosexual anti-racist [[counter-protest]]ors arriving to oppose them.<ref name="vice jarva pride">{{cite news |last1=Pérez Borjas |first1=Weronika |title=Rainbows and Racism Marched Together in Sweden During LGBT Pride Week |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/sweden-jarva-pride-parade-immigration-protest/ |access-date=27 January 2019 |work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |date=30 July 2016 |archive-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128082730/https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/pp4k58/sweden-jarva-pride-parade-immigration-protest |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2014, the official [[Stockholm Pride]] voted to ban the SD from participating that year, which was met with criticism from both within the party and from some opposition politicians, who argued it was undemocratic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thelocal.se/20140729/sweden-democrats-barred-from-stockholm-pride|title=Stockholm Pride bars Sweden Democrats|date=29 July 2014 |access-date=20 September 2023|archive-date=4 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104012326/https://www.thelocal.se/20140729/sweden-democrats-barred-from-stockholm-pride|url-status=live}}</ref>

In recent years, the SD has shifted its stance to being more supportive of [[LGBT rights by country or territory#Northern Europe|LGBT rights]] and same-sex parenting by updating and expanding its policies regarding LGBT issues. In 2010, SD leader Jimmie Åkesson and party vice-president [[Carina Ståhl Herrstedt]] published an article apologizing for past [[homophobic]] statements made by party members, and arguing that mass immigration risked eroding the rights of Sweden's gay community.<ref>[http://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/debattamnen/jamstalldhet/article6866464.ab Aftonbladet, SD – ett parti för hbt-personer], publicerad 30 mars 2010</ref> In its current platform, the SD states "everyone must be treated equally, regardless of sexual orientation, and discrimination must be combated".<ref name="auto11">{{Cite web|url=https://sd.se/|title=Sveriges snabbast växande folkrörelse|website=Sverigedemokraterna|access-date=28 July 2015|archive-date=8 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908210848/https://sd.se/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sd.se/our-politics/hbtq-personers-psykiska-halsa/|title=HBTQ personers psykiska hälsa|access-date=22 December 2020|archive-date=6 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806150616/https://sd.se/our-politics/hbtq-personers-psykiska-halsa/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In a 2018 interview, SD member of the Riksdag and gender-equality spokesperson [[Paula Bieler]] stated that homophobes "are not welcome in our party".<ref>{{cite news |title=Europe's anti-immigrant parties are becoming more gay-friendly, partly as a way to bash Muslim immigrants |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2018/07/05/europes-anti-immigrant-parties-are-becoming-more-gay-friendly |access-date=27 January 2019 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |date=5 July 2018 |quote=Paula Bieler, gender-equality spokesperson of the xenophobic Sweden Democrats, says homophobes 'are not welcome in our party'. |archive-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128030324/https://www.economist.com/europe/2018/07/05/europes-anti-immigrant-parties-are-becoming-more-gay-friendly |url-status=live }}</ref> Since 2018, the SD party program has been updated to support same-sex adoption and parenting.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.svd.se/a/EonM0o/utvecklat-mina-varderingar-om-samkonad-adoption |title="Utvecklat mina värderingar om samkönad adoption" |work=Svenska Dagbladet |date=7 July 2018 |access-date=2025-01-13 |last1=Cederholm |first1=Stina }}</ref> In 2025, the SD proposed constructing a statue in [[Örebro]], dedicated to [[Muhsin Hendricks]], the world's first openly gay imam, who had been shot dead in his car in South Africa, to honour his work for the LGBTQI movement, as well as constructing a statue in [[Rinkeby]] to honour the rights of LGBTQI people in the area.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lundkvist |first=Oscar |date=2025-04-08 |title=Upprätta ett HBT-monument i Vivalla |url=https://www.sd.se/orebro/uppratta-ett-hbt-monument-i-vivalla/ |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=SD Örebro |language=sv-SE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Järva |first=Nyhetsbyrån |date=2025-01-15 |title=Här vill SD uppföra ett HBTQ-monument |url=https://www.nyhetsbyranjarva.se/har-vill-sd-uppfora-ett-hbtq-monument/ |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=Nyhetsbyrån Järva |language=sv-SE}}</ref>

The SD supports [[gender-affirming surgery]], as long as the motive behind it is mental wellbeing, and permission is given by a medical professional.<ref>{{cite web |title=HBTQ personers psykiska hälsa |url=https://sd.se/our-politics/hbtq-personers-psykiska-halsa/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806150616/https://sd.se/our-politics/hbtq-personers-psykiska-halsa/ |archive-date=6 August 2021 |access-date=3 May 2020 |website=sd.se |publisher=Sweden democrats |language=sv |quote=För att genomgå en fysisk könskorrigering ska kravet vara psykisk stabilitet.}}</ref>

Gender studies scholars Karlberg, Korolczuk and Sältenberg note that politicians representing the Sweden Democrats are among "the primary actors advancing [[Anti-gender movement in Sweden|anti-gender discourses" in Sweden]], a discourse they argue contributes to an "insidious [[de-democratization]]" by targeting vulnerable groups.<ref name="Karlberg">{{cite journal |last1=Karlberg |first1=Eva |last2=Korolczuk |first2=Elżbieta |last3=Sältenberg |first3=Hansalbin |title=Insidious de-democratization: Conceptualizing anti-gender politics in Sweden |journal=[[Journal of Gender Studies]] |date=2025 |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=732–748 |doi=10.1080/09589236.2024.2446345}}</ref>

==== Gender equality ====
SD opposes any "negative or positive special treatment on the basis of gender, age, sexual orientation, nationality or ethnic origin" in the labour market.<ref name=":3">{{cite web|title=A-Ö|url=https://sd.se/a-o/|access-date=16 January 2021|website=Sverigedemokraterna|language=sv-SE|archive-date=1 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101041553/https://sd.se/a-o/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The party maintains that, collectively, there are biological differences between men and women, some of which that cannot be "observed with the naked eye". Perceived differences between men and women in regards to preference, behaviour and life choices exist due to each individual's choices and does not necessarily have to be "problematic, the result of discrimination nor the result of an oppressive gender power structure".<ref name=":3" />

==== Church policies ====
The party believes that the [[Church of Sweden]] should have a special position in Swedish society. In order to protect Swedish cultural heritage, members of the party want to protect the Lutheran tradition in the church elections and counteract secular party-political control of the Swedish Church. SD supports interfaith dialogue but opposes Qur'an recitals or imams delivering Islamic services in churches which the SD claims to be part of "Islamizing Swedish society".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://expo.se/nyhet/sd-kyrkan-ska-missionera-i-invandrartata-omraden/ |title=SD: "Kyrkan ska missionera i invandrartäta områden" |date=13 September 2013 |access-date=2025-01-16}}</ref> The SD previously called for the Church of Sweden to be reinstated as a [[state church]] but no longer supports this policy, however they continue to support holidays in connection with religious occasions to only include traditionally Swedish and Christian holidays with party leader Jimmie Åkesson stating in a 2014 interview that he wants to protect Christianity as a "system of norms".<ref name="dagen.se">{{cite web |url=https://www.dagen.se/dokument/2014/07/18/jimmie-akesson-gud-ar-en-uppsattning-normer-och-varderingar/ |title=Jimmie Åkesson: Gud är en uppsättning normer och värderingar |work=Dagen |date=18 July 2014 |access-date=2025-01-16}}</ref> In Swedish Church Assembly election campaigns, the SD has campaigned on the issue of Christians who are subjected to persecution and hate crimes in Sweden and abroad.<ref name="dagen.se"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ratatosk.sd.se/sd/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/30183140/Valplattform-kyrkovalet-2021.pdf |title=Kyrkopolitisk valplattform 2021|access-date=2025-01-16}}</ref>

==== Law and order and security ====
The Sweden Democrats support generally increased [[minimum sentence]]s as well as increased resources and personnel for the [[Swedish Police Authority|police]]. SD wishes to instate the possibility of [[Life imprisonment|life imprisonment without parole]] for the worst crimes and to repatriate foreign citizens found guilty of serious crimes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Straff|url=https://sd.se/our-politics/straff/|access-date=15 January 2021|website=Sverigedemokraterna|language=sv-SE|archive-date=21 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121231313/https://sd.se/our-politics/straff/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kriminalpolitik|url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/kriminalpolitik/|access-date=15 January 2021|website=Sverigedemokraterna|language=sv-SE|archive-date=22 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122221348/https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/kriminalpolitik/|url-status=dead}}</ref> SD also wants to establish a public register of individuals convicted of certain sexual crimes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jämställdhetspolitik|url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/jamstalldhetspolitik/|access-date=15 January 2021|website=Sverigedemokraterna|language=sv-SE|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507211527/https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/jamstalldhetspolitik/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The party also supports increased surveillance of those known to be involved in criminal gangs and terrorism. SD argues for a zero-tolerance law for people who physically attack police officers and emergency workers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/brott-och-straff/ |title=Tougher on the gangs |work=Sverigedemokraterna |access-date=2024-10-03}}</ref>

SD previously supported the reinstatement of [[capital punishment]] before dropping it as an official policy after the party program was updated in 1998, although individuals within the party continue to support the death penalty for serious crimes such as murder and [[infanticide]] and have called for [[chemical castration]] of convicted child sexual abusers.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Kotanen Hallbeck |first1=Linda |last2=Lindberg |first2=Linda |author-link2=Linda Lindberg |last3=Nordengrip |first3=Caroline |author-link3=Caroline Nordengrip |date=2021-01-09 |title=Debatt: 'Skydda alltid våra barn' |trans-title=Debate: "Always protect our children" |url=https://www.barometern.se/debatt/skydda-alltid-vara-barn-98f74722/ |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=[[Barometern]] |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Nelson |first=Fraser |date=8 September 2018 |title=Are the Sweden Democrats far-right? Jimmie Åkesson interviewed |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/are-the-sweden-democrats-far-right-jimmie-akesson-interviewed |website=[[The Spectator]] |access-date=22 December 2020 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121215406/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/are-the-sweden-democrats-far-right-jimmie-akesson-interviewed |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Far-right member motions death penalty |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20091017/22712 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627050333/https://www.thelocal.se/20091017/22712 |archive-date=27 June 2019 |website=[[The Local]]}}</ref>

The SD opposes allowing Swedish citizens who joined [[ISIS]] to return to Sweden and argues that anyone who joins a foreign terrorist group should be denied state funded assistance. In 2023, SD also stated that Swedes who have travelled to the [[Gaza Strip]] to support Hamas should be banned from reentering the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.svd.se/a/76av7K/akesson-vi-har-krig-pa-gatorna |title=Åkesson: Vi behöver riva moskéer i Sverige |work=Svenska Dagbladet |date=25 November 2023 |access-date=2025-02-03 |last1=Svahn/Tt |first1=Niklas }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Russell |first=Dave |date=21 March 2019 |title=Staffanstorp votes to strip ISIS returnees of assistance |url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/7181036 |newspaper=[[Sveriges Radio]] |access-date=26 February 2021 |archive-date=8 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208012555/https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/7181036 |url-status=live }}</ref> SD has also emphasised a desire to crack down on abuses and crimes of which the elderly are particular targets.<ref name=":9">[https://web.archive.org/web/20130818021933/https://sverigedemokraterna.se/vara-asikter/vara-viktigaste-fragor/en-trygg-och-vardig-alderdom/ En trygg och värdig ålderdom]. ''sverigedemokraterna.se''.</ref>

In 2025, the SD supported passing stricter ownership regulations on [[AR-15]] rifles following the [[2025 Risbergska school shooting]] although some senior party spokespeople expressed opposition to amending gun ownership laws citing the impact it could have on farmers and hunters.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3lpp9we4jo |title=Sweden plans tighter gun laws after deadly school shooting |date=7 February 2025 |access-date=2025-02-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bryant |first1=Miranda |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/07/sweden-to-tighten-gun-laws-in-wake-of-orebro-mass-shooting|title=Sweden plans to tighten gun laws in wake of Örebro mass shooting |work=The Guardian |date=7 February 2025 |access-date=2025-02-17}}</ref>

=== Economy ===
The Sweden Democrats have described themselves as supporters of the [[Welfare in Sweden|Swedish welfare state]], [[Labor rights|labour rights]] and the [[public sector]], but argue that welfare should be restricted to Swedish citizens and permanent residents.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sweden.se/society/political-parties-in-sweden/|title=Political parties in Sweden|date=28 April 2017|website=sweden.se|access-date=19 February 2021|archive-date=3 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903125816/https://sweden.se/society/political-parties-in-sweden/|url-status=live}}</ref> The party argues that foreign-born nationals must show proof of legal residence, paid taxes and financial self-support for a certain period to become eligible for welfare.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/en-strikt-invandringspolitik/|title=En strikt Invandringspolitik|website=Sverigedemokraterna}}</ref> In its platform, the SD claims that its economic policies are neither left or right-wing, but designed to improve conditions for [[Small and medium-sized business|small and medium-sized companies]], [[self-employed]] citizens and [[Entrepreneurship|entrepreneurs]] to boost employment and stimulate the economy, as opposed to what it describes as "constructed jobs" created by the state to reduce unemployment but hold no long term benefit for the Swedish economy or career paths for the people who work them. SD wants to abolish the Swedish Employment Service in its current form and replace it with a new authority for the supervision and close regulation of private employment services to ensure large corporations do not exploit or undercut Swedish workers. The party supports affordable and free access to public healthcare for Swedish nationals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/arbetsmarknadspolitik/|title=Arbetsmarknadspolitik|language=sv|access-date=19 February 2021|archive-date=2 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402014802/https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/arbetsmarknadspolitik/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

SD supports certain [[free trade]] conditions but believe Sweden must exit or revise trade agreements that pose a threat to Sweden's sovereignty and Swedish workers. The party favours certain measures of [[Protectionism|economic protectionism]] and support state-ownership of companies that operate Swedish mines, agricultural land and produce energy or defense equipment. However, SD also support abolishing [[inheritance tax]] and reducing [[property tax]].<ref name="auto13"/> Since the 2010s, the SD has been critical of Chinese government involvement in infrastructure projects and trade deals with Sweden.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.altinget.se/sakerhet/artikel/aspling-sd-stoppa-investering-i-bank-styrd-av-kinesiska-staten|title=Aspling (SD): Stoppa investering i bank styrd av kinesiska staten|date=24 October 2019|website=Säkerhet|access-date=3 February 2024|archive-date=3 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240203024641/https://www.altinget.se/sakerhet/artikel/aspling-sd-stoppa-investering-i-bank-styrd-av-kinesiska-staten|url-status=live}}</ref> SD wishes to lower the tax rate for the elderly, as well as increase subsidised housing for the elderly.<ref name=":9" /> SD also wishes to allocate additional resources to municipalities in order to provide seniors with greater food assistance and, in general, improve their quality of life.<ref name=":9" />

Political author Anders Backlund described the party as "economically centrist", leaning towards [[economic nationalism]] (in contrast to the other Swedish conservative parties who tend to favour open free markets and global cosmopolitan philosophies) and supporting a [[Mixed economy|mixed market economy]] combining centre-left and centre-right ideas, as well as promoting "[[Welfare chauvinism|welfare chauvinist]]" policies which blend national-populism with socio-economics.<ref>{{cite thesis|author=Anders Backlund|title=The Sweden Democrats in Political Space|url=http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A625421&dswid=-8611|location=[[Södertörn University]]|degree=MA|date=Spring 2011|access-date=10 January 2023|archive-date=10 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110163300/http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:625421&dswid=-8611|url-status=live}}</ref> According to political scientist Johan Martinsson: "In economic terms, the party is more centrist and pragmatic, with a mixture of left and right-wing proposals".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Angelica Diehn |first=Sonya |date=13 September 2022 |title=Sweden's election: The astonishing rise of the right-wing Sweden Democrats |url=https://www.dw.com/en/swedens-election-the-astonishing-rise-of-the-right-wing-sweden-democrats/a-63100694 |access-date=14 September 2022 |website=DW.com |archive-date=14 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220914020700/https://www.dw.com/en/swedens-election-the-astonishing-rise-of-the-right-wing-sweden-democrats/a-63100694 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Environment ===
The party argues that, while Sweden should maintain its "active role in global climate cooperation", other countries should reduce their emissions, as it believes Sweden to already be doing enough on that front.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keating |first=Dave |date=2017-06-16 |title=Sweden to end net carbon emissions by 2045 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/sweden-to-end-net-carbon-emissions-by-2045/a-39280147 |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]] |language=en |archive-date=30 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130083650/https://www.dw.com/en/sweden-to-end-net-carbon-emissions-by-2045/a-39280147 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":8" /> The party opposed the [[Paris Agreement|Paris agreement]],<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Lund |first=Jörgen |date=17 October 2016 |title=Därför röstade SD nej till Parisavtalet |trans-title=That's why SD voted no to the Paris agreement |url=https://www.etc.se/inrikes/darfor-rostade-sd-nej-till-parisavtalet |access-date=19 June 2017 |work=ETC |language=sv |archive-date=20 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020121254/https://www.etc.se/inrikes/darfor-rostade-sd-nej-till-parisavtalet |url-status=live }}</ref> and advocates keeping [[Nuclear power in Sweden|nuclear power plants]] as a prominent energy source in Sweden,<ref>{{cite web |last=Widerberg |first=Göran |date=13 August 2014 |title=Så vill partierna lösa energifrågan |trans-title=How the parties wants to solve the energy conundrum |url=http://da.se/2014/08/sa-vill-partierna-losa-energifragan/ |access-date=19 June 2017 |website=[[Dagens Arbete]] |language=sv-SE |archive-date=11 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611044122/http://da.se/2014/08/sa-vill-partierna-losa-energifragan/ |url-status=live }}</ref> believing it to be an efficient way to [[Climate change mitigation|mitigate climate change]]. They also advocate investing in climate research internationally and funding climate action on a global scale.<ref name="auto11"/>{{Better source needed|reason=Source is not very specific or unbiased|date=September 2024}}

==== Agriculture and forestry ====
SD supports creating a specialist law enforcement branch for animal welfare and call for stricter penalties against animal cruelty. In 2017, the SD members of the Riksdag Justice Committee filed a motion calling for extended prison sentences for those found guilty of animal abuse, which was ultimately supported by the other parties.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/motion/skarpta-straff-for-djurplageri-_h5022384/ |title=Skärpta straff för djurplågeri |access-date=2025-01-16}}</ref> The party opposes EU influence over domestic laws on hunting, farming and forestry within Sweden, calling for such policies to be decided upon by rural Swedes instead of Brussels. SD is also critical of non-stun animal slaughter and want to ban the import of goods that contradict Swedish animal welfare legislation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/jaktpolitik/ |title=Beslut om svensk jakt ska fattas i Sverige|work=Sverigedemokraterna |access-date=2025-01-16}}</ref>

=== Foreign policy ===
==== Defense ====
SD wants to increase the number of [[Swedish Army]] brigades to seven from 2021's two.<ref name=":3" /> The party has stated that it would seek to raise Sweden's [[defense spending]] to 2–2.5% of GDP.<ref name="newsnowfinland.fi" /><ref name=":3" />

The party supports closer military cooperation with neighboring [[Nordic countries]] and previously opposed Swedish membership of [[NATO]], instead calling for an alignment without full membership.<ref name="newsnowfinland.fi">{{citation| url = https://newsnowfinland.fi/finland-international/swedens-right-wing-more-finland-less-nato| website = newsnowfinland| title = Sweden's Right Wing: More Finland, Less NATO| date = 8 September 2018| access-date = 29 February 2020| archive-date = 29 February 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200229152113/https://newsnowfinland.fi/finland-international/swedens-right-wing-more-finland-less-nato| url-status = dead}}</ref> However, following the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] the SD leadership announced it would consider changing its policy to endorse NATO membership and support joining if [[Finland]] also applied for NATO membership.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/sweden-democrats-leader-wants-party-change-nato-membership-if-finland-applies-2022-04-09/ |title=Sweden Democrats leader wants party to change on NATO membership if Finland applies to join alliance |publisher=Reuters |date=9 April 2022 |access-date=14 June 2022 |archive-date=9 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509013708/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/sweden-democrats-leader-wants-party-change-nato-membership-if-finland-applies-2022-04-09/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It subsequently voted in favor for NATO membership in the Riksdag.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Omröstning: betänkande 2022/23:UU16 Sveriges medlemskap i Nato, förslagspunkt 3 (Omröstning 2022/23:UU16 Sveriges medlemskap i Nato) |url=https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/omrostning/omrostning-betankande-202223uu16-sveriges_ha19uu16p3/ |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=www.riksdagen.se |language=sv}}</ref>

==== European Union ====
The Sweden Democrats support close political co-operation within the [[Nordic countries|Nordic sphere]], but are [[Euroscepticism|Eurosceptic]] and against further [[European integration|EU integration]] and cession of Swedish sovereignty to the [[European Union]].<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |title=Rösta SD i årets Europaparlamentsval |trans-title=Vote SD in this year's election to the European Parliament |url=https://eu.sd.se/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125053126/https://eu.sd.se/ |archive-date=25 November 2020 |access-date=22 December 2020 |website=Sverigdemokraterna}}</ref> The party states that it supports European political and economic co-operation to secure trade and combat cross-border organized crime, illegal immigration, [[Islamism]], terrorism and environmental challenges but strongly opposes creating an [[Common Security and Defence Policy|EU army]] or policies that could lead to the creation of a [[Federal Europe|Federal European Superstate]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sd.se/vad-vi-vill/generell-eu-politik/ |title=Mitt Europa bygger murar |work=Sverigedemokraterna |access-date=2025-01-06}}</ref><ref name="auto8">{{Citation |last1=Radosevich |first1=Frank |title=Sweden Democrat MEP candidate: More money for EU border system |date=9 May 2018 |newspaper=[[Sveriges Radio]] |url=https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=7214581 |access-date=29 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229152116/https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=7214581 |archive-date=29 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto2"/> The party generally opposes all EU regulation over Swedish tax, pensions, environmental and domestic affairs and calls for the national sovereignty and cultural identity of European nations to be prioritized above the EU's political ambitions.<ref>{{cite web |last=Landahl |first=Eva |title=Linda Lindberg (SD) – Valkompass EU-valet |url=https://valkompassen.svt.se/eu-2019/kandidat/linda-lindberg/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626150355/https://valkompass.svt.se/eu-2019/kandidat/linda-lindberg/ |archive-date=2022-06-26 |website=valkompassen.svt.se}}</ref> SD rejects joining the [[Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union|Economic and Monetary Union]] by opposing the [[Euro]] currency and favors keeping the [[Swedish krona|krona]]. They also seek to reduce Swedish financial contributions to Brussels, end Swedish participation in bailouts for other EU member states, renegotiate Swedish membership of the [[Schengen Agreement]] and opt-out of common asylum agreements, protect freedom of speech and the [[Right to Internet access|free access to the internet]] from EU copyright bills, and are against the [[accession of Turkey to the European Union]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Jacobsen |first=Henriette |title=Socialists win by landslide in Sweden as voters punish governing parties |date=26 May 2014 |newspaper=[[EurActiv]] |url=http://www.euractiv.com/sections/eu-elections-2014/socialists-win-landslide-sweden-voters-punish-governing-parties-302364 |access-date=27 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527024417/http://www.euractiv.com/sections/eu-elections-2014/socialists-win-landslide-sweden-voters-punish-governing-parties-302364 |archive-date=27 May 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto2"/>

The party has called for Sweden to renegotiate its membership of the EU and seeks an amendment to the Swedish constitution to make it mandatory that proposed EU treaties and financial transfers be first put to a public vote.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sverigedemokraternas Valplattform 2022 |trans-title=The Sweden Democrats' Election Platform 2022 |url=https://sd.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/sverigedemokraternas-valplattform-2022-april.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813120040/https://sd.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/sverigedemokraternas-valplattform-2022-april.pdf |archive-date=2022-08-13 |publisher=The Sweden Democrats}}</ref> The SD believes that if the EU cannot be reformed or attempts to transform itself into a Superstate, Sweden must immediately reconsider its membership via a referendum and prepare to leave the EU.<ref name="auto4"/> The SD's youth-wing, the [[Young Swedes SDU|Young Swedes]] ({{lang|sv|Ungsvenskarna}}), support a Swedish exit from the EU. In 2023, party leader Åkesson and SD European Union spokesman [[Charlie Weimers]] unveiled a new EU strategy with the objective of achieving better negotiation results, increasing Swedish influence and stopping the EU from gaining more power by creating a [[European Union Act 2011|referendum lock]] based on the [[United Kingdom|UK]] [[European Union Act 2011]] in the Riksdag to prevent transfer of powers to Brussels without a mandatory public vote. SD argues that a referendum lock should be used to prevent further [[EU expansion]] to include Turkey, Albania and Balkan states.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fokus.se/synvinkel/sa-kan-vi-hindra-att-eu-far-mer-makt/ |title=Så kan vi hindra att EU får mer makt |date=25 February 2021 |access-date=2025-01-06}}</ref> The SD has also said it wants a Swedish exit from the EU be made possible by removing all references to membership in the constitution.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Åkesson |first1=Jimmie |author-link=Jimmie Åkesson |last2=Weimers |first2=Charlie |author-link2=Charlie Weimers |date=15 May 2023 |title=SD: Hög tid för en ny svensk EU-strategi |trans-title=The SD: High time for a new Swedish EU strategy |url=https://www.svd.se/a/veb1QB/sd-hog-tid-for-en-ny-svensk-eu-strategi |newspaper=[[Svenska Dagbladet]] |department=Debate}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Weimers |first=Charlie |date=24 November 2023 |title=Sverige behöver en ny EU-strategi |trans-title=Sweden needs a new EU strategy |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3xcwa1KpL8 |website= |publisher=Charlie Weimers |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=24 November 2023 |title=SD-topp öppnar för 'omedelbar Swexit' |trans-title=High ranking SD member open to "immediate Swexit" |url=https://www.tv4.se/artikel/6FOKidtWgITYqyzZJ3w5tA/sd-topp-oeppnar-foer-omedelbar-swexit |website=[[TV4 (Swedish TV channel)|TV4]] |agency=[[TT News Agency|TT]]}}</ref> In 2025, the Sweden Democrats stated that while they remain critical of the EU, they believe EU funds are necessary and pragmatic in the current climate for European military rearmament, with the party citing the war in Ukraine and deteriorating security situation between the United States and Europe.<ref name=":5">{{cite web|title=Valuta|url=https://sd.se/our-politics/valuta/|publisher=Sverigedemokraterna|date=3 May 2020|access-date=14 September 2021|archive-date=14 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914202547/https://sd.se/our-politics/valuta/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":11" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/sverigedemokraterna-i-det-har-laget-behovs-eu |title=Sverigedemokraterna: I det här läget behövs EU |date=6 March 2025 |access-date=2025-04-14}}</ref>

==== Russia ====
The SD has taken a strongly pro-Ukraine position following the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion]] and has called on Sweden and Western governments to help the Ukrainian people defend their homeland.<ref name="rmx.news"/> Åkesson said in 2024 that SD stands fully behind Sweden's support for Ukraine, and that; "We will continue to do so as long as the Ukrainian people fight their heroic fight."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wallberg/TT |first=Peter |date=2024-05-04 |title=Åkesson: SD står fullt ut bakom Ukrainastöd |url=https://www.svd.se/a/zAL29b/akesson-sd-star-fullt-ut-bakom-ukrainastod |access-date=2025-04-12 |work=Svenska Dagbladet |language=sv |issn=1101-2412}}</ref> He also said that sees no limit on how much the EU should send to Ukraine, adding that he supports a [[Ukraine–European Union relations|future Ukrainian membership in the EU]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Arenander |first=Inger |date=2024-05-31 |title=Åkesson: Tänker inte spela Putin i händerna |url=https://www.svd.se/a/gwWOB9/jimmie-akesson-sd-finns-ingen-ovre-grans-for-ukraina |access-date=2025-04-12 |work=Svenska Dagbladet |language=sv |issn=1101-2412}}</ref>

In 2022, an analysis of votes relating to Russia in the [[European Parliament]] found that the Sweden Democrats were the 10th-most critical party in the parliament having voted against Russian interests 93 percent of the time.<ref>{{cite web |title=EU-Russia: latest trends among EU political parties (measurement) |url=https://www.votewatch.eu/blog/eu-russia-latest-trends-among-eu-political-parties-measurement/,%20https://www.votewatch.eu/blog/eu-russia-latest-trends-among-eu-political-parties-measurement/ |website=VoteWatch |via=[[Google Drive]]}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Random Google Drive link, no publisher or name|date=September 2024}} The report found that among all Swedish parties the Sweden Democrats were the most critical of Russia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/undersokning-i-europaparlamentet-sd-mest-putin-kritiska-av-svenska-partier|title=Undersökning i EU-parlamentet: SD mest Putin-kritiskt av svenska partier|first=Birgitta|last=Johansson|newspaper=Sveriges Radio|date=24 June 2022|via=sverigesradio.se|access-date=27 June 2022|archive-date=27 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627173244/https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/undersokning-i-europaparlamentet-sd-mest-putin-kritiska-av-svenska-partier|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the party got rid of members who had previously expressed support for Putin.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wingborg |first=Mats |date=2 March 2022 |title=Synen på Ryssland en akilleshäl för SD |trans-title=The view of Russia an Achilles' heel for SD |url=https://www.dagensarena.se/opinion/synen-pa-ryssland-en-akilleshal-sd/ |access-date=31 January 2024 |archive-date=1 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201135850/https://www.dagensarena.se/opinion/synen-pa-ryssland-en-akilleshal-sd/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Middle East ====
The Sweden Democrats are supportive of [[Israel]]. The party favors recognising [[Jerusalem]] as Israel's capital and proposes moving the [[List of diplomatic missions of Sweden|Swedish embassy]] there.<ref>{{Citation | url = https://www.timesofisrael.com/swedish-far-right-party-calls-to-recognize-jerusalem-as-israels-capital/ | newspaper = Times of Israel | title = Swedish far-right party calls to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital | date = September 2018 | access-date = 1 January 2020 | archive-date = 1 October 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191001161702/https://www.timesofisrael.com/swedish-far-right-party-calls-to-recognize-jerusalem-as-israels-capital/ | url-status = live }}</ref> A study by the ''European Coalition for Israel'' documented that SD had the most pro-Israel voting record of the Swedish parties in the European Parliament.<ref name="auto12">{{cite news |last=Harkov |first=Lahav |date=17 May 2023 |title=Swedish party with Nazi roots 'wants to be friends of Israel, Jews' |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-743376 |access-date=31 May 2024 |publisher=Jerusalem Post}}</ref> In 2021, the Israeli government stated that they did not maintain relations with the SD due to "its roots in Nazism"<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 October 2021 |title=Israels ambassadör: Vi vill inte ha några kontakter med SD |url=https://www.dn.se/sverige/israels-ambassador-vi-vill-inte-ha-nagra-kontakter-med-sd/ |access-date=18 September 2022 |website=[[Dagens Nyheter]] |language=sv |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920121454/https://www.dn.se/sverige/israels-ambassador-vi-vill-inte-ha-nagra-kontakter-med-sd/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kahana |first=Ariel |date=2021-10-26 |title= |script-title=he:זעם בימין השבדי: השגריר הישראלי הודיע שיחרים מפלגה שתומכת בישראל |url=https://www.israelhayom.co.il/news/geopolitics/article/5312119 |access-date=18 September 2022 |website=[[Israel Hayom]] |language=he |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920171933/https://www.israelhayom.co.il/news/geopolitics/article/5312119 |url-status=live }}</ref> but by 2023 had dropped its non-cooperation stance after SD representatives signed a document of principle with Israeli ministers pledging to combat antisemitism. Between 2023 and 2024, a delegation of senior SD members visited Israel to hold meetings with [[Knesset]] politicians and discuss a cooperation pact with the [[Likud]] party.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-29/ty-article/.premium/top-members-of-far-right-swedish-party-with-neo-nazi-roots-meet-israeli-minister/0000018d-564e-d0fc-a9bd-5e5f9ff00000 |title=Top Members of Far-right Swedish Party With neo-Nazi Roots Meet Israeli Minister in Knesset |publisher=Haaretz |date=29 Jan 2024 |access-date=31 May 2024 |archive-date=8 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240408204219/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-29/ty-article/.premium/top-members-of-far-right-swedish-party-with-neo-nazi-roots-meet-israeli-minister/0000018d-564e-d0fc-a9bd-5e5f9ff00000 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/06/12/seizing-on-pro-israel-stance-likud-poised-to-mover-closer-to-far-right-parties-in-europe/ |title=Seizing on pro-Israel stance, Likud poised to move closer to far-Right parties in Europe |publisher=Haaretz |date=6 December 2024 |access-date=31 May 2024 |archive-date=1 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240601191507/https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/06/12/seizing-on-pro-israel-stance-likud-poised-to-mover-closer-to-far-right-parties-in-europe/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The party has also taken a strongly pro-Israel position following the outbreak of the [[Gaza war]], supporting military action to remove Hamas and calling on the Swedish government to review all funding to Palestinian organizations which the SD accuse of spending aid money on terrorism.<ref name="auto12"/>

SD has advocated a "neutral" position on the [[Syrian civil war]] and sent a delegation to meet with Syrian officials in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dalsbro |first1=Anders |last2=Wiklander |first2=Daniel |date=2018-02-20 |title=SD-riksdagsmän kritiseras för resa till Syrien |trans-title=SD Member of Parliament criticized for trip to Syria |url=https://expo.se/nyheter/2017/11/sd-riksdagsm%C3%A4n-kritiseras-f%C3%B6r-resa-till-syrien |website=[[Expo (magazine)|Expo]] |language=sv |access-date=1 September 2022 |archive-date=6 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906152952/https://expo.se/nyheter/2017/11/sd-riksdagsm%C3%A4n-kritiseras-f%C3%B6r-resa-till-syrien |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Other regions ====
In 2011, SD was the only Swedish political party to vote against Swedish involvement in the [[2011 military intervention in Libya]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Jakobsson |first=Johannes |date=1 April 2011 |title=Sverigedemokraterna röstade mot Libyeninsatsen |trans-title=The Sweden Democrats voted against the Libya intervention |url=https://expo.se/2011/04/sverigedemokraterna-r%C3%B6stade-mot-libyeninsatsen |work=[[Expo (magazine)|Expo]]}}</ref> SD also supports the creation of an [[Kurdistan|independent Kurdish state]] and for the [[Armenian genocide]] to be formally recognised by the international community.<ref name="auto4"/> In 2019, SD-member [[Björn Söder]] received the [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Armenia#Mkhitar Gosh Medal|Mkhitar Gosh Medal]] by President [[Armen Sarksyan]] and [[Markus Wiechel]] received the Medal of Honour of the [[National Assembly of Armenia]]. These were the first Sweden Democrats to receive international awards for their political engagement. Since 2022, the SD has participated in [[bipartisan]] efforts to give more diplomatic recognition to [[Taiwan]], and supported a motion in the Riksdag to change the name of Sweden's representative office in Taiwan to "House of Sweden". SD politician [[Markus Wiechel]] said the name change denotes that Sweden should treat Taiwan as a nation rather than a disputed territory or a province of China.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://globaltaiwan.org/2022/05/facing-beijings-coercion-sweden-strengthens-ties-with-taiwan/ |title=Facing Beijing's Coercion, Sweden Strengthens Ties with Taiwan |date=4 May 2022 |access-date=2025-02-03}}</ref> Wiechel also proposed giving military support to Taiwan and said SD sees Taiwan as an independent state.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nyheter |first=S. V. T. |date=2023-05-19 |title=SD-politiker: Taiwan bör få militärt stöd – precis som Ukraina |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/sd-politiker-sverige-bor-bista-taiwan-militart |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=SVT Nyheter |language=sv}}</ref> Three SD-members of Parliament ([[Markus Wiechel]], [[Björn Söder]] and [[Nima Gholam Ali Pour]]) received "Certificate of Appreciation", an award from Taipei Mission in Sweden because of their commitment to strengthen Swedish-Taiwanese relations. SD politician and MEP [[Charlie Weimers]] also enhanced Taiwan-EU relations through his motion, which got approval in the [[European Parliament]] on closer cooperation between Taiwan and EU.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stort EU-stöd för SD-politiker om Taiwan |url=https://www.europaportalen.se/2021/09/stort-eu-stod-sd-politiker-om-taiwan |access-date=2025-04-12 |website=www.europaportalen.se |language=sv}}</ref>

== Election results ==
=== [[Riksdag]] ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Election
! Leader
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/-
! Status
|-
! [[1988 Swedish general election|1988]]
| 
| 1,118
| 0.0
| {{Composition bar|0|349|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{steady}}
| {{N/A|No seats}}
|-
! [[1991 Swedish general election|1991]]
| rowspan=2 | [[Anders Klarström]]
| 4,887
| 0.1 (#10)
| {{Composition bar|0|349|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{steady}}
| {{N/A|No seats}}
|-
! [[1994 Swedish general election|1994]]
| 13,954
| 0.3 (#9)
| {{Composition bar|0|349|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{steady}}
| {{N/A|No seats}}
|-
! [[1998 Swedish general election|1998]]
| rowspan=2 | [[Mikael Jansson (politician)|Mikael Jansson]]
| 19,624
| 0.4 (#8)
| {{Composition bar|0|349|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{steady}}
| {{N/A|No seats}}
|-
! [[2002 Swedish general election|2002]]
| 76,300
| 1.4 (#8)
| {{Composition bar|0|349|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{steady}}
| {{N/A|No seats}}
|-
! [[2006 Swedish general election|2006]]
| rowspan=5 | [[Jimmie Åkesson]]
| 162,463
| 2.9 (#8)
| {{Composition bar|0|349|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{steady}}
| {{N/A|No seats}}
|-
! [[2010 Swedish general election|2010]]
| 339,610
| 5.7 (#6)
| {{Composition bar|20|349|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{increase}} 20
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[2014 Swedish general election|2014]]
| 801,178
| 12.9 (#3)
| {{Composition bar|49|349|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{increase}} 29
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[2018 Swedish general election|2018]]
| 1,135,627
| 17.5 (#3)
| {{Composition bar|62|349|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{increase}} 13
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[2022 Swedish general election|2022]]
| 1,330,325
|  20.5 (#2)
| {{Composition bar|73|349|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{increase}} 11
| {{partial2|External support}}
|}

=== [[European Parliament]] ===
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
! EP Group
|-
! [[1999 European Parliament election in Sweden|1999]]
| 8,568
| 0.34 (#8)
| {{Composition bar|0|22|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| New
| rowspan=3 | −
|-
! [[2004 European Parliament election in Sweden|2004]]
| 28,303
| 1.13 (#9)
| {{Composition bar|0|19|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{steady}}
|-
! [[2009 European Parliament election in Sweden|2009]]
| 103,584
| 3.27 (#10)
| {{Composition bar|0|19|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{steady}}
|-
! [[2014 European Parliament election in Sweden|2014]]
| 359,248
| 9.67 (#5)
| {{Composition bar|2|20|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{increase}} 2
| [[Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy|EFDD]]
|-
! [[2019 European Parliament election in Sweden|2019]]
| 636,877
| 15.34 (#3)
| {{Composition bar|3|20|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{increase}} 1
| rowspan=2 | [[European Conservatives and Reformists Group|ECR]]
|-
! [[2024 European Parliament election in Sweden|2024]]
| 552,920
| 13.17 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|3|21|hex={{party color|Sweden Democrats}}}}
| {{steady}}
|}

====Maps====
<gallery>
File:Riksdagsvalet 2002 (Sverigedemokraterna).svg|2002: The party's share of the vote by municipality <small>(darker shades indicate a higher percentage of votes)</small>
File:Riksdagsvalet 2006 (Sverigedemokraterna).svg|2006: The party's share of the vote by municipality <small>(darker shades indicate a higher percentage of votes)</small>
File:Riksdagsvalet 2010 (Sverigedemokraterna).svg|2010: The party's share of the vote by municipality <small>(darker shades indicate a higher percentage of votes)</small>
File:SwedishGeneralElection2010-map-SwedenDemocrats.svg|2010: The party's share of the vote by municipality <small>(lighter shades indicate a higher percentage of votes)</small> 
File:Riksdagsvalet 2014 (Sverigedemokraterna).svg|2014: The party's share of the vote by municipality <small>(darker shades indicate a higher percentage of votes)</small> 
File:Riksdagsvalet 2018 (Sverigedemokraterna).svg|2018: The party's share of the vote by municipality <small>(darker shades indicate a higher percentage of votes)</small> 
File:Riksdagsvalet 2022 (Sverigedemokraterna).svg|2022: The party's share of the vote by municipality <small>(darker shades indicate a higher percentage of votes)</small>
</gallery>

== Organization ==

=== Leadership ===

==== Party leaders ====
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="2" |Party leader 
!Time in office 
|-
|1.
|[[Anders Klarström]]
|1989 – 1995 
|-
|2.
|[[Mikael Jansson (politician)|Mikael Jansson]]
|May 1995 – 7 May 2005 
|-
| 3.
|[[Jimmie Åkesson]]
|7 May 2005 – 2014 
|-
|4.
|[[Mattias Karlsson (politician, born 1977)|Mattias Karlsson]]
|2014 – 2015 (interim)
|-
|5.
|[[Jimmie Åkesson]]
|2015 – present 
|}

==== Deputy Party leaders ====
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="2" |First Deputy 
!Time in office 
|-
|1.
|[[Jonas Åkerlund (politician)|Jonas Åkerlund]]
|2006 – 2015
|-
|2.
|[[Julia Kronlid]]
|2015 – 2019
|-
|3.
|[[Henrik Vinge]]
|2019 – present
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="2" |Second Deputy 
!Time in office 
|-
|1.
|[[Jonas Åkerlund (politician)|Jonas Åkerlund]]
|2005 – 2006
|-
|2.
|[[Anna Hagwall]]
|2006 – 2009
|-
|3.
|[[Carina Ståhl Herrstedt]]
|2009 – 2019
|-
|4.
|[[Julia Kronlid]]
|2019 – present 
|}

==== Secretaries ====
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="2" |Secretary
!Time in office 
|-
|1.
|[[Jakob Eriksson (politician)|Jakob Eriksson]]
|1998 – 2001
|-
|2.
|[[Jimmy Windeskog]]
|2001 – 2003
|-
|3.
|{{ill|Torbjörn Kastell|sv}}
|2003 – 2004
|-
|4.
|[[Jan Milld]]
|2004 – 2005
|-
|5.
|[[David Lång]]
|2005
|-
|6.
|[[Björn Söder]]
|2005 – 2015
|-
|7.
|[[Richard Jomshof]]
|2015 – 2022
|-
|8.
|[[Mattias Bäckström Johansson]]
|2022 – present 
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="2" |International secretary
!Time in office 
|-
|1.
|[[Kent Ekeroth]]
|2007 – 2017
|-
|2.
|[[Peter Lundgren (politician)|Peter Lundgren]] 
|2017 – 2022
|-
|3.
|[[Mattias Karlsson (politician, born 1977)|Mattias Karlsson]]
|2022 – present
|}

==== Parliamentary group leaders ====
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="2" |Parliamentary group leader 
!Time in office 
|-
|1.
|[[Björn Söder]]
|2010 – 2014
|-
|2.
|[[Mattias Karlsson (politician, born 1977)|Mattias Karlsson]]
|2014 – 2019
|-
|3.
|[[Henrik Vinge]]
|2019 – 2023
|-
|4.
|[[Linda Lindberg]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=TT |date=2023-04-25 |title=SD får ny gruppledare i riksdagen |url=https://www.svd.se/a/WReakj/sd-far-ny-gruppledare-i-riksdagen |access-date=2025-01-10 |work=Svenska Dagbladet |language=sv |issn=1101-2412}}</ref>
|2023 – present 
|}

==== Party treasurer ====
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="2" |Treasurer
!Time in office 
|-
|1.
|[[Bo Broman]]
|2019 – present
|}

==== Party spokespeople ====
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! colspan="2" |Spokespersons
!Time in office 
|-
|1.
|[[Leif Zeilon]] and [[Jonny Berg]]
|1988 – 1989
|-
|2.
|[[Ola Sundberg]] and [[Anders Klarström]]
|1989 – 1990
|-
|3.
|[[Anders Klarström]] and [[Madeleine Larsson]]
|1990 – 1992
|}

=== Internal structure ===
The Sweden Democrats are made up of 16 districts of local party associations with executive boards. Each district consists of a number of municipal associations, which may include one or more municipalities. In municipalities that are not covered by a municipal association, the party organises its members as ''working groups'' instead. The SD also has a centralized national board permanently chaired by the party leader and party secretary and whose other members are elected by the SD's membership base.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sd.se/partistyrelse/|title=Partistyrelse|website=Sverigedemokraterna}}</ref>

Within the SD there is a women's branch [[SD-Women]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sdkvinnor.se/om-sd-kvinnor/|title=Om oss|publisher=SD-kvinnor|language=Swedish|access-date=31 August 2014}}</ref> and an affiliated youth-wing [[Young Swedes SDU]] which was founded in 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jessica Ohlson ny SDU-ordförande|url=http://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/jessica-ohlson-ny-sdu-ordforande|author=Mathias Gerdfeldter|newspaper=SVT Nyheter |date=12 September 2015|access-date=2 October 2015}}</ref> The SD's first youth-wing was founded in 1993 as the ''Sweden Democratic Youth Association'' before it was renamed the [[Sweden Democratic Youth]] (SDU). The old SDU was disbanded in 1995 due to extremism problems before it was reconstituted in 1998. Many prominent SD politicians including party leader Jimmie Åkesson were members of the SDU. In 2015, the SD announced it would expel the leadership of the SDU from the mother party and officially sever ties with it due to ongoing controversies with its members. The party subsequently created the Young Swedes SDU as a replacement.<ref>{{cite web|title=SD-konfliktens ABC|url=http://expo.se/2015/sd-konfliktens-abc_6853.html|author=[[Daniel Poohl]]|date=10 April 2015|access-date=2 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kasselstrand: "Interndemokrati existerar inte" [Video]|url=http://www.expressen.se/tv/nyheter/kasselstrand-interndemokrati-existerar-inte/|date=12 September 2015|access-date=2 October 2015}}</ref>

Following the 2010 Swedish general election, the SD created its own security unit which by 2014 consisted of an estimated 60 people. SD states that the unit is intended to handle internal issues within the party, including cybersecurity, to marshal public events and to encourage members to report external threats to the police.<ref>{{cite news |author=Hennel, Lena |date=22 November 2013 |title=SD bygger upp egen säkerhetsorganisation |trans-title=The SD creates its own security organisation |url=http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/sd-bygger-upp-egen-sakerhetsorganisation_8755894.svd |url-access=subscription |access-date=28 March 2014 |newspaper=[[Svenska Dagbladet]] |language=sv}}</ref><ref name="Åkesson kritisk">{{cite web |title=Åkesson kritisk mot säkerheten |url=http://www.tv4.se/nyheterna/klipp/%C3%A5kesson-kritisk-mot-s%C3%A4kerheten-2481654 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208062757/http://www.tv4.se/nyheterna/klipp/%C3%A5kesson-kritisk-mot-s%C3%A4kerheten-2481654 |archive-date=8 December 2015 |access-date=28 March 2014 |publisher=[[TV4-nyheterna]]}}</ref> The SD has argued the security wing is necessary due to threats against SD politicians and highlighted a 2012 report by the [[Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention]] which found one in two of every local SD politician had experienced some form of threat, harassment or physical violence, and that SD legislators were statistically twice as more likely to be threatened than members of other parties. SD reported 95 instances of threats or violence against elected officials to the police and Riksdag security in 2012.<ref name="Åkesson kritisk" /><ref>{{cite web|access-date=29 March 2014|date=December 2012|publisher=BRÅ|title=Politikernas trygghetsundersökning 2012|url=http://www.bra.se/download/18.22a7170813a0d141d21800058601/1363787633610/2012_14_PTU_politikernas_trygghetsunders_kning_webb.pdf}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

=== Associated organisations and media ===
Since its founding, the SD has published its own newspaper {{Lang|sv|SD-Kuriren}} which was previously known as {{Lang|sv|Sverige-Kuriren}} and then {{Lang|sv|SD Bulletin}} until 2003. Party secretary [[Richard Jomshof]] currently serves as the paper's editor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-08-28 |title=Sverigedemokraterna nylanserar SD-Kuriren |trans-title=The Sweden Democrats relaunch SD-Kuriren |url=https://dagensopinion.se/artikel/sverigedemokraterna-nylanserar-sd-kuriren/ |website=Dagens Opinion}}</ref> In 2014, the party also launched an online magazine {{Lang|sv|Samtiden}} ('Contemporary'). It is currently edited by Swedish economist [[Dick Erixon]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Dick Erixon blir Sverigedemokraternas chefredaktör {{!}} Dagens Opinion |url=http://www.dagensopinion.se/dick-erixon-blir-sverigedemokraternas-chefredakt%C3%B6r |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170112185130/http://www.dagensopinion.se/dick-erixon-blir-sverigedemokraternas-chefredakt%C3%B6r |archive-date=12 January 2017 |access-date=10 January 2017 |work=Dagens Opinion}}</ref>

In 2020, [[Mattias Karlsson (politician, born 1977)|Mattias Karlsson]], the former group leader of the Sweden Democrats in the Riksdag founded [[Oikos (Swedish think-tank)|Oikos]], a conservative think-tank. Expo has alleged the think-tank to be an "extension of the Sweden Democrats' political project" supposedly also receiving funding from the party<ref name="Poohl"/> although the group itself claims to be non-partisan.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Om Oikos|url=https://oikos.se/om-oikos/|access-date=5 November 2021|website=Tankesmedjan Oikos|language=sv-SE}}</ref>

In 2020, the party also helped to launch a web based TV channel called Riks,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.expressen.se/kronikorer/sds-nya-youtube-kanal-visar-inte-att-man-star-bakom/|title=SD:s nya Youtube-kanal – visar inte att man står bakom|work=[[Expressen]]|date=17 February 2021 |access-date=24 June 2021}}</ref> through their wholly owned online magazine {{Lang|sv|Samtiden}}, with the ambition that the media channel should not be an official party TV.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Andersson |first1=Elisabet |date=17 January 2021 |title=Utan filter: SD storsatsar på konservativ tv-kanal |url=https://www.svd.se/utan-filter-sd-storsatsar-pa-konservativ-tv-kanal |url-access=subscription |access-date=24 June 2021 |work=[[Svenska Dagbladet]]}}</ref> However, in a 2024 investigatory exposé conducted by [[TV4 (Swedish TV channel)|TV4]]’s investigatory branch, {{ill|Kalla fakta|sv}}, it was discovered that Riks and the SD are in a close-knit relationship with each other. For example, the exposé showed that Riks rents its office spaces from the Sweden Democrats, and that members of the SD and Riks come into frequent contact with one another, moving freely between each other's offices. Moreover, the SD's communications department instructed Riks to hide any connection to SD before an ''[[Expressen]]'' interview with Dick Erixon in Riks' offices.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Berg |first=Rosanna |date=2024-05-15 |title=Riks och SD:s taktik för att dölja kopplingen: 'Inga SD-kepsar' |trans-title=Riks and the SD's tactic to hide the connection: "No SD-caps" |url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/riks-och-sds-taktik-for-att-dolja-kopplingen-inga-sd-kepsar |access-date=2024-08-30 |work=[[SVT Nyheter]] |language=sv}}</ref> In addition to that, the programme showed that the SD's communications department used anonymous social media accounts to artificially disseminate Riks' posts and [[YouTube]] videos.<ref name="ISTroll"/><ref name="TrollFabrikTV4"/>

=== Voter demography ===
According to [[Statistics Sweden]]'s (SCB) 2017 party preference survey, the Sweden Democrats (SD) have a stronger support among men than among women. There is no noticeable difference in support for the party among different age groups. The support for SD is greater among native born than among foreign born. Since 2014 the SD has substantially increased its support among both foreign-born and foreign-background voters, becoming the third largest party in Sweden also among this demographic by 2017.<ref name="svt.se">{{Cite news|date=7 June 2017|title=SD ökar kraftigt bland väljare med utländsk bakgrund|language=sv|work=SVT|url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/sd-okar-kraftigt-bland-utrikes-fodda}}</ref> Sympathies are greater for the party among persons with primary and secondary education than among those with a higher education.<ref name="SCB2017"/>

A study by ''[[Aftonbladet]]'' in 2010 found that 14%{{nbsp}}of SD members were of immigrant origin,<ref>{{cite news|date=24 May 2010|title=Invandrare—och Sverigedemokrat|language=sv|newspaper=Aftonbladet|url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/valet2010/article7178127.ab|access-date=22 October 2010}}</ref> which matches the share of foreign-born inhabitants of Sweden, while their vote share in this population group has always been lower.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tabeller över Sveriges befolkning 2009|url=http://www.scb.se/Pages/PublishingCalendarViewInfo____259923.aspx?PublObjId=11400|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812141807/http://www.scb.se/Pages/PublishingCalendarViewInfo____259923.aspx?PublObjId=11400|archive-date=12 August 2011|access-date=24 February 2015|work=Statistiska Centralbyrån}}</ref> For the 2010 election in the municipality of [[Södertälje Municipality|Södertälje]] ([[Stockholm County]]), SD{{nbsp}}was the only party with a majority of immigrants on its electoral list, mostly [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] from the [[Middle East]].<ref>{{cite web|date=23 April 2010|title=SD har flest invandrare på vallistan|url=http://lt.se/nyheter/1.810001-sd-har-flest-invandrare-pa-vallistan|access-date=8 November 2010|publisher=LT|language=sv}}</ref> Polling{{nbsp}}7.31%{{nbsp}}(3,447 votes), SD's{{nbsp}}municipal list in [[Södertälje Municipality|Södertälje]] got 5{{nbsp}}of the{{nbsp}}65 municipal seats.<ref>{{cite web|date=21 September 2010|title=Val till kommunfullmäktige i Södertälje—Valsedlar|url=http://www.val.se/val/val2010/valsedlar/K/kommun/01/81/valsedlar.html#id0110|access-date=14 September 2010|publisher=Val.se|language=sv}}</ref> Since 2014, the SD has seen growing support from foreign-born Swedish voters, and was estimated to have become the third most popular party for voters of immigrant backgrounds by 2017.<ref name="svt.se" /> In recent years, politicians of ethnic minority and immigrant backgrounds have become increasingly active in the party, with notable examples including [[Nima Gholam Ali Pour]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thelocal.se/20131213/foreign-born-swedes-join-anti-immigration-party |title=Foreign-born Swedes join anti-immigration party |newspaper=The Local Sweden |publisher=www.thelocal.se |date=13 December 2013 |access-date=28 September 2022}}</ref> [[Kent Ekeroth]], [[Sara Gille]]<ref>{{cite news|title=FOSTER CHILD SARA GILLE BECAME A NURSE AND A POLITICIAN|url=https://samtiden.nu/2021/07/fosterbarnet-sara-gille-blev-underskoterska-och-politiker/|date=21 July 2021|access-date=28 September 2022}}</ref> and [[Rashid Farivar]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Korn |first=D. |date=4 September 2022 |title=Den konservative invandraren |url=https://bulletin.nu/korn-den-konservative-invandraren |access-date=28 September 2022 |work=[[Bulletin (online newspaper)|Bulletin]] |language=sv}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  style="text-align:left; width:250px;"| Preference for SD
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2014
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2017
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2018
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2020
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2022
|-
| All voters || 6.0% || 13.5% || 14.7% || 16.7% ||16.5%
|-
| Male || 8.7% || 17.9% || 19.7%|| 22.8%  ||23.3%
|-
| Female ||3.4% || 9.2% ||9.7% ||10.5% ||9.6% 
|-
| Native born ||6.5% || 13.9% || 15.3% || 17.4% ||17.2% 
|-
| Foreign born ||1.8% || 10.7% || 11.3%||11.8% ||12.1%
|-
| Swedish background  ||6.7% || 13.7% || 15.2%||24.4% ||25.1%
|-
| Foreign background  ||2.0% || 12.8% || 12.0% ||14.7% ||14.3%
|-
|Source: || colspan="2" |<ref name="SCB2017">[http://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/statistik-efter-amne/demokrati/partisympatier/partisympatiundersokningen-psu/pong/publikationer/partisympatiundersokningen-maj-2017/ "Partisympatiundersökningen maj 2017." ''Statistiska Centralbyrån.''] Retrieved 12 March 2018.</ref>|| <ref name="SCB2018">[http://www.scb.se/contentassets/0984ad11a11942c7ab394f5365881f82/me0201_2018m05_br_me60br1801.pdf "Partisympatiundersökningen maj 2018." ''Statistiska Centralbyrån.''] Retrieved 11 June 2018.</ref> || <ref name=SCB2020>[https://www.scb.se/contentassets/70f7d66a4e77478d915fd9b45f846bb2/me0201_2020m05_br_me60br2001.pdf  "Partisympatiundersökningen maj 2020." ''Statistiska Centralbyrån.''] Retrieved 9 July 2020.</ref> ||
<ref name=SCB2022>[https://www.scb.se/contentassets/b35fc283a6264668a9dd7f24249b438f/me0201_2022m05_br_me60br2201.pdf  "Partisympatiundersökningen maj 2022." ''Statistiska Centralbyrån.''] Retrieved 12 September 2022.</ref>
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  style="text-align:left; width:250px;"| Preference for SD and education
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2014
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2017
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2018
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2020
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2022
|-
| All voters || 6.0% || 13.5% || 14.7% || 16.7% ||16.5%
|-
| [[Primary education]]|| 9.6%|| 17.5% || 19.1% || 23.5% ||21.1%
|-
| [[Secondary education]]||7.7% || 17.5% || 19.8% || 22.0%||22.3%
|-
| Post-secondary education less than three years||2.5% || 10.4% || 7.8% || 10.0%||11.8%
|-
| Post-secondary education three years or more ||1.7% || 4.8% || 6.0% || 6.7%||6.5%
|-
|Source:|| colspan="2" |<ref name="SCB2017"/> || <ref name="SCB2018"/> || <ref name=SCB2020/> ||<ref name=SCB2022/>
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  style="text-align:left; width:250px;"| Preference for SD and income
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2014
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2017
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2018
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2020
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2022
|-
| All voters || 6.0% || 13.5% || 14.7% || 16.7%||16.5%
|-
| Lowest quintile  || 7.2%|| 11.9% ||14.5% ||13.8% ||13.8%
|-
| Second quintile   ||7.2% || 16.1% || 15.0%||16.6%||15.7%
|-
| Third quintile   ||6.2% || 15.3% || 15.1%||18.8%||18.8%
|-
| Fourth quintile   ||6.0% || 13.5% || 17.6%|| 19.0%||20.1%
|-
| Highest quintile    ||4.7% || 11.6% || 11.6%||14.8%||14.4%
|-
|Source:|| colspan="2" |<ref name="SCB2017"/> || <ref name="SCB2018"/> || <ref name=SCB2020/>||<ref name=SCB2022/>
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  style="text-align:left; width:250px;"| Preference for SD and socioeconomic group
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2014
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2017
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2018
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2020
!  style="text-align:left; width:100px;"| May 2022
|-
| All voters || 6.0% || 13.5% || 14.7%  || 16.7% ||16.5%
|-
| Unskilled blue-collar workers  || 8.9 %|| 16.3% || 20.6% || 24.1%||24.5%
|-
| Skilled blue-collar workers || 9.5% || 22.6% ||22.1%|| 26.3%||27.8%
|-
| Lower level white-collar worker || 6.3% || 12.2%||12.1% || 11.8%||13.8%
|-
| Middle level white-collar workers || 2.9% || 8.7% ||10.7%|| 12.6%||11.8%
|-
| Higher level white-collar workers  || 2.3% || 7.2% ||7.7%|| 10.7%||8.3%
|-
| [[Self-employed]] (including farmers)  || 6.2% || 16.3% || 17.7% || 24.8%||rowspan=2|23.3%
|-
| Other businessmen (including farmers) ||12.2% || 21.8% ||16.7% || 27.0%
|-
| [[Student]]s|| 3.3% || 6.7% || 12.6% ||6.5% ||n/a
|-
|Source:|| colspan="2" |<ref name="SCB2017"/> || <ref name="SCB2018"/> || <ref name=SCB2020/> ||<ref name=SCB2022/>
|}

==== Changes in voter base at the general elections, 2006–2022 ====
{| style="float:left;"  class="wikitable"
|-
!''Group/Sex''
!  style="text-align:left; width:50px;"| 2006
!  style="text-align:left; width:50px;"| 2010
!  style="text-align:left; width:50px;"| 2014
!  style="text-align:left; width:50px;"| 2018
!  style="text-align:left; width:50px;"| 2022
|-
|[[Blue-collar worker]]s|| 3%||6%||11%||24%||29%
|-
|[[White-collar worker]]s||1%||2%||6%||12%||15%
|-
|[[Businessmen]] and [[farmer]]s||2%||4%||8%||23%||24%
|-
|[[Male]]||2%||5%||16%||22%||25%
|-
|[[Female]]||1%||3%||10%||12%||16%
|-
|<small>Source:</small> ||colspan=5|<ref>[https://www.svt.se/datajournalistik/valu2022/valjargrupper/ "Väljargrupper." ''SVT Nyheter''] Retrieved 13 September 2022.</ref>
|}
{{clear}}

=== International relations ===
In its early days, the Sweden Democrats was known to associate itself with both native Swedish and wider European [[extreme-right]] activist groups and political parties.<ref name=vitbok /><ref name="SDBulle 11-89"/> In 1997, the Sweden Democrats made connections with the French National Front (FN) and [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]] after SD spokesman Johan Rinderheim participated in the conference that established Le Pen's ''[[Euronat]]'' initiative and the SD received support from the FN in 1998.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sdarkivet.se/publikationer/sd-bulletinen/SD-Bulletinen_1998_10.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924095703/http://www.sdarkivet.se/publikationer/sd-bulletinen/SD-Bulletinen_1998_10.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-09-24 |title="The Joint Declaration of the Young European Nationalists" |access-date=2025-06-19}}</ref> The SD also founded the ''[[NordNat]]'' alliance of Nordic nationalist parties in 1997 which also contained the Finnish [[Patriotic People's Movement (1993)|Patriotic People's Movement]], the Danish [[:da:Nationalpartiet Danmark|National Party]] and the [[Fatherland Party (Norway)|Fatherland Party]] of Norway,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EkgXi4vNFjAC|title=Parliamentary Assembly Documents 1999 Ordinary Session (fourth part, September 1999), Volume VII|publisher=Council of Europe|pages=10–11|isbn= 9789287141392}}</ref> but otherwise the SD did not actively seek formal relationships outside of Sweden.<ref name=vitbok /><ref name="SDBulle 11-89"/> During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the SD began distancing itself from extreme-right parties. The SD broke ties with Euronat in 1998 and NordNat in 1999 and became more influenced by the neighboring [[Danish People's Party]] (DF). By the late 2000s the SD said it had ceased regarding the National Front as a role model and instead saw the DF as a sister party.<ref>{{cite news |date=27 May 2014 |title=SD svänger om Nationella fronten |url=https://www.svd.se/sd-svanger-om-nationella-fronten |url-access=subscription |newspaper=[[Svenska Dagbladet]] |via= |access-date=12 March 2021 |archive-date=23 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023175940/https://www.svd.se/sd-svanger-om-nationella-fronten |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2010, party secretary [[Björn Söder]] published an article disowning the SD's older connections to extreme or neo-fascist groups or individuals like Le Pen and said SD was more focused on Sweden's issues over interacting with foreign parties.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/a/2c4552fa-290b-3561-83ff-5ec70dcefb36/nu-far-sd-mer-danskt-stod |title=Nu får SD mer danskt stöd |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |date=12 November 2010 |access-date=2024-02-04 |last1=Olsson |first1=Lova |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204222048/https://www.svd.se/a/2c4552fa-290b-3561-83ff-5ec70dcefb36/nu-far-sd-mer-danskt-stod |url-status=live }}</ref>  The party has also been active within [[counter-jihad]] networks, explicitly from 2007 to 2011.<ref>{{cite thesis|title='Green Crescent, Crimson Cross': The Transatlantic 'Counterjihad' and the New Political Theology|url=https://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3780/1/Pertwee__green-crescent-crimson-cross.pdf|pages=6, 101|last=Pertwee|first=Ed|date=October 2017|publisher=London School of Economics|access-date=23 February 2024|archive-date=8 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408194803/https://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3780/1/Pertwee__green-crescent-crimson-cross.pdf|url-status=live|doi=10.21953/lse.xx0e1p4w3f3y|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f4bFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181|page=181|title=Extreme Right Wing Political Violence and Terrorism|editor-first1=Max|editor-last1=Taylor|editor-first2=P.M.|editor-last2=Currie|editor-first3=Donald|editor-last3=Holbrook|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=2013|isbn=9781441140876|access-date=23 February 2024|archive-date=23 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223195625/https://books.google.com/books?id=f4bFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C5Q7EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT316|page=316|title=Swedish-American Borderlands: New Histories of Transatlantic Relations|first1=Dag|last1=Blanck|first2=Adam|last2=Hjorthén|publisher=U of Minnesota Press|year=2021|isbn=9781452962412|access-date=23 February 2024|archive-date=23 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240223195625/https://books.google.com/books?id=C5Q7EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT316|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|url=https://expo.se/wp-content/uploads/expo_migration/Organiserad-intolerans-i-Finland-och-Sverige_SLUTLIG.pdf|title=Organiserad intolerans i Finland och Sverige|language=sv|first1=Daniel|last1=Poohl|first2=Martha|last2=Hannus|first3=David|last3=Lagerlöf|first4=Mikael|last4=Brunila|first5=Li|last5=Andersson|first6=Dan|last6=Koivulaakso|work=Expo|date=2012|pages=15–23}}</ref>

In Europe, SD has had some contacts with the Austrian [[Freedom Party of Austria|FPÖ]], the Dutch [[Party for Freedom]] and [[Forum for Democracy]], the Flemish [[Vlaams Belang]] and the now defunct Belgian [[People's Party (Belgium)|People's Party]] over the early 2010s.<ref>{{cite web |last=Haglund |first=Fredrik |date=27 May 2013 |title=Sverigedemokraterna söker samarbete inför EU-val |trans-title=The Sweden Democrats seeks cooperation ahead of EU election |url=https://www.europaportalen.se/2013/05/sverigedemokraterna-soker-samarbete-infor-eu-val |website={{ill|Europaportalen|sv}} |place=Brussels |language=sv |access-date=10 July 2021 |archive-date=10 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210710145521/https://www.europaportalen.se/2013/05/sverigedemokraterna-soker-samarbete-infor-eu-val |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/wilders-and-le-pen-plan-right-wing-populist-faction-in-eu-parliament-a-933340.html |title=Euroskeptic Union: Right-Wing Populists Forge EU Alliance |work=Spiegel Online |date=13 November 2013 |access-date=11 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415150910/http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/wilders-and-le-pen-plan-right-wing-populist-faction-in-eu-parliament-a-933340.html |archive-date=15 April 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL81iZZ_awI |title=How Sweden can be saved |date=2019-11-25 |last=Baudet |first=Thierry |author-link=Thierry Baudet |type=Video |publisher=[[Forum for Democracy]] |access-date=2024-08-31 |via=[[YouTube]] |archive-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416142601/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL81iZZ_awI |url-status=live }}</ref> The Danish People's Party was initially indifferent on collaborating with the SD until 2010 when [[Pia Kjærsgaard]] travelled to Sweden to help with the party's general election campaign.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brandel |first1=Tobias |date=11 September 2010 |title=Kjærsgaard kritiserade Sahlin och Reinfeldt |trans-title=Kjærsgaard criticized Sahlin and Reinfeldt |url=https://www.svd.se/kjrsgaard-kritiserade-sahlin-och-reinfeldt |url-access=subscription |website=[[Svenska Dagbladet]] |language=sv |access-date=12 March 2021 |archive-date=22 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622170815/https://www.svd.se/kjrsgaard-kritiserade-sahlin-och-reinfeldt |url-status=live }}</ref> Shortly after, Danish People's Party foreign affairs spokesman [[Søren Espersen]] hosted the SD's conference and said both parties would work together in the [[Nordic Council]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.svd.se/a/2c4552fa-290b-3561-83ff-5ec70dcefb36/nu-far-sd-mer-danskt-stod |title=Now SD gets more Danish support |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |date=12 November 2010 |access-date=2024-02-04 |last1=Olsson |first1=Lova |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204222048/https://www.svd.se/a/2c4552fa-290b-3561-83ff-5ec70dcefb36/nu-far-sd-mer-danskt-stod |url-status=live }}</ref> Before the [[2014 European Parliament election in Sweden|European election of 2014]] there was some speculation that the SD would enter a grouping with other European nationalist parties led by [[Marine Le Pen]]. SD politicians confirmed they had had met with representatives from the proposed group but said the talks were informal. The Danish People's Party reportedly threatened to end ties with SD if they joined the group, stating that while they were willing to work with the SD and the Dutch Freedom Party, they opposed inclusion of parties like the National Front and the FPÖ.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nyheter24.se/nyheter/politik/756991-dansk-folkeparti-hotar-med-att-overge-sverigedemokraterna |title=The Danish People's Party threatens to abandon the Sweden Democrats |date=14 November 2013 |access-date=2024-02-04 |archive-date=4 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204222049/https://nyheter24.se/nyheter/politik/756991-dansk-folkeparti-hotar-med-att-overge-sverigedemokraterna |url-status=live }}</ref> However, after the election the SD began to distance itself from other European far-right parties and elected to become a member of the more moderate [[Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy]] (EFDD) group with the [[UK Independence Party]]. The SD was also active in the [[European Alliance for Freedom]] and the [[Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe]] (ADDE) Euro parties with members of the [[UK Independence Party]] (UKIP). In 2016, Marine Le Pen stated that the Sweden Democrats were no longer in official cooperation with her party.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/6566067 | title=Marine le Pen critical of Sweden Democrats | newspaper=Sveriges Radio | date=18 November 2016 }}</ref>

In 2015, SD began forging closer relations with the Danish People's Party, and in 2018 announced an official cooperation pact with the [[Finns Party]], which had previously distanced itself from the SD.<ref name="nordicpopulist">{{cite web|url=https://www.hbl.fi/2017-11-27/nordisk-populistfront/|title=Nordisk populistfront|date=27 November 2017|author=Susanna Ginman|work=[[Hufvudstadsbladet]]|language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thelocal.se/20150820/denmarks-nationalists-rally-after-sweden-democrats-rise|title=Danish nationalists cheer Sweden Democrat poll|newspaper=The Local Sweden|date=20 August 2015 |access-date=22 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/finns_party_hails_closer_ties_with_nationalist_sweden_democrats/10313894|title=Finns Party hails closer ties with nationalist Sweden Democrats|website=yle.fi|date=19 July 2018|access-date=22 April 2020|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109032929/https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/finns_party_hails_closer_ties_with_nationalist_sweden_democrats/10313894|url-status=live}}</ref> All three parties are members of the [[Nordic Freedom]] group in the [[Nordic Council]]. Politicians of the Norwegian [[Progress Party (Norway)|Progress Party]] have called for official collaboration with the SD, although the Progress Party's leadership has traditionally not supported any partnership and turned down joining with the Sweden Democrats on the Nordic Council. In 2022, Progress Party leader [[Sylvi Listhaug]] officially endorsed the SD during the 2022 Swedish general election and said that while her party shares common ground with the Sweden Democrats on immigration and law & order policies, differences in economic views prevented her from forming a direct alliance with the SD.<ref name="nordicpopulist"/><ref name="Dagbladet">{{cite news |last1=Nordhagen Walnum |first1=Amanda |last2=Rønning |first2=Mats |date=22 November 2018 |title=Hyller partiet 'ingen' vil samarbeide med. Det får Støre til å reagere |trans-title=Praises the party "no one" wants to cooperate with. That causes Støre to react |url=https://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/hyller-partiet-ingen-vil-samarbeide-med-det-far-store-til-a-reagere/70489591 |work=[[Dagbladet]] |language=no |access-date=2 February 2023 |archive-date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202181304/https://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/hyller-partiet-ingen-vil-samarbeide-med-det-far-store-til-a-reagere/70489591 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The SD maintained cooperation with the [[Alternative for Germany]] party under [[Frauke Petry]]'s leadership when both parties sat with the EFDD group and were members of the [[Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe|ADDE]] alliance, with Jimmie Åkesson describing the AfD as the SD's "sister party" in Germany during the [[2017 German federal election]]. However, Åkesson has since distanced the SD from statements made by some AfD politicians and by 2024 said the AfD was no longer ideologically compatible with his party.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/afd-vi-ska-aterta-vart-land-och-vart-folk | title=AFD: "Vi ska återta vårt land och vårt folk" | newspaper=SVT Nyheter | date=24 September 2017 | last1=Lindhe | first1=Jon | access-date=10 February 2024 | archive-date=1 March 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240301035148/https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/afd-vi-ska-aterta-vart-land-och-vart-folk | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Salo |first1=Sanna |last2=Iso-Markku |first2=Tuomas |title=Centre-right parties in Germany and Sweden |url=https://www.fiia.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bp356_centre-right-parties-in-germany-and-sweden.pdf |access-date=2024-02-16 |publisher=[[Finnish Institute of International Affairs]] |isbn=978-951-769-753-8 |issn=1795-8059}}</ref><ref name="auto10">{{cite web |date=21 April 2024 |title=SD håller dörren på glänt för Fidesz – men vill inte ha gemensam högergrupp i EU-parlamentet |url=https://www.dn.se/varlden/sd-haller-dorren-pa-glant-for-fidesz-men-vill-inte-ha-gemensam-hogergrupp-i-eu-parlamentet/ |url-access=subscription |website=[[Dagens Nyheter]] |place=Brussels |access-date=23 May 2024 |archive-date=23 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523081742/https://www.dn.se/varlden/sd-haller-dorren-pa-glant-for-fidesz-men-vill-inte-ha-gemensam-hogergrupp-i-eu-parlamentet/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Since 2018, the SD has been a member of the [[European Conservatives and Reformists Group]] (ECR Group) and the [[European Conservatives and Reformists Party]] and presently sits alongside [[Brothers of Italy]], the Czech [[Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic)|Civic Democratic Party]], Spanish [[Vox (political party)|Vox]] party, the Flemish [[New Flemish Alliance|N-VA]], Polish [[Law and Justice]], the [[Finns Party]] and [[JA21]] from the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/far-right-italy-giorgia-meloni-europe-conservatives-want-a-piece/ |title=Europe's conservatives want a piece of Giorgia Meloni |date=24 January 2023 |access-date=1 February 2023 |archive-date=3 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230803040818/https://www.politico.eu/article/far-right-italy-giorgia-meloni-europe-conservatives-want-a-piece/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ecrgroup.eu/ecr/meps |title=MEPs |access-date=1 February 2023}}</ref> In 2019, there was discussions on whether the SD would join a new group with the Danish People's Party headed by [[Matteo Salvini]]'s [[Lega Nord]]. However, Åkesson said SD was not invited to join a new European Parliament group and would stay with the ECR but suggested this may have been due to his party's reluctance to cooperate with Le Pen and pro-Putin parties in Europe.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://euobserver.com/tickers/144763 | title=&#91;Ticker&#93; Sweden Democrats not invited to join Salvini group | date=30 April 2019 }}</ref> In 2024, the SD sought to distance itself from Hungary's [[Fidesz]] citing what they perceive as [[Viktor Orbán]]'s soft stance on Russia following [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|its invasion of Ukraine]] and threatened to leave the ECR if Fidesz joined unless Orbán demonstrated a more pro-NATO and Putin-critical position.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wax |first=Eddy |date=9 February 2024 |title=Sweden Democrats threaten to quit right-wing EU group if Orbán joins |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-democrats-threaten-to-quit-right-wing-eu-group-erc-if-orban-joins/ |access-date=31 August 2024 |website=[[Politico]] |place=Brussels |archive-date=1 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901145944/https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-democrats-threaten-to-quit-right-wing-eu-group-erc-if-orban-joins/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the Sweden Democrats later softened its stance against Fidesz and said it was open to working with the party in the European Parliament, but maintained it would not cooperate with Alternative for Germany and cast doubt on an alliance with the French [[National Rally]].<ref name="auto10"/>

In July 2024, the Sweden Democrats formed the European Parliament 'Nordic Freedom' alliance within the ECR along with the [[Denmark Democrats]] and the [[Finns Party]], citing common stances on opposing Russian influence, reducing the EU's intervention into the market, and a desire to participate in governments.<ref>{{cite news|work=Brussels Signal|title=Nordic MEPs promise 'Conservative revival' in Brussels|date=29 July 2024|url=https://brusselssignal.eu/2024/07/nordic-meps-promise-conservative-revival-in-brussels/}}</ref>

Outside of the EU, SD has had informal contacts with the British [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] and the US [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]. Individual politicians of the Norwegian [[Progress Party (Norway)|Progress Party]] have also called for more collaboration with the SD.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/04/tory-meps-criticised-alliance-with-swedish-populists-sweden-democrats |title=Tory MEPs criticised for alliance with Swedish populists |newspaper=The Guardian |date=4 July 2018 |access-date=1 February 2023|last1=Rankin |first1=Jennifer }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Kristiansen |first=Tore |date=1 November 2022 |title=Listhaug vil at Norge skal ta samme oppgjør som svenskene med 'naiv asylpolitikk' |trans-title=Listhaug wants Norway to take the same approach as the Swedes with "naive asylum policy" |url=https://www.document.no/2022/11/01/listhaug-vil-at-norge-skal-ta-samme-oppgjor-som-svenskene-med-naiv-asylpolitikk/ |work= |language=no |access-date=2 February 2023 |archive-date=6 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206183806/https://www.document.no/2022/11/01/listhaug-vil-at-norge-skal-ta-samme-oppgjor-som-svenskene-med-naiv-asylpolitikk/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Dagbladet"/> The SD has also sought to improve and build relations with Israel's [[Likud]] which had previously turned down meetings with the SD due to the party's past.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Shirit Avitan |date=13 June 2023 |title=Likud poised to end boycott of Swedish nationalist party |url=https://www.jns.org/israel-news/likud-party/23/6/13/294664/ |access-date=31 August 2024 |website=[[Jewish News Syndicate]] |archive-date=8 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240808022658/https://www.jns.org/israel-news/likud-party/23/6/13/294664/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2024, the SD and Likud began official cooperation with each other.<ref name="auto12"/>

== Public profile and controversies ==
=== Early image ===
During the 1980s and early 1990s, several outspoken [[Far-right politics|far-right]] and [[Nazism|Nazi]]<ref name="svd.se"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="aftonbladet.se"/> advocates were involved with the party.<ref name="autogenerated10" /><ref name="autogenerated11">{{cite news|url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/9912/02/nazi1.html|title=Ett nätverk för nazister|newspaper=Aftonbladet|date=2 December 1999|access-date=25 May 2006|language=sv|archive-date=15 February 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050215181944/http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/9912/02/nazi1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It was founded by, among others, the Swedish [[Waffen-SS]] veteran [[Gustaf Ekström]]<ref name="svd.se"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="aftonbladet.se"/> and members of both older Nazi and [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] organisations. In its early days, the SD also had a reputation for attracting biker and skinhead gangs to its rallies before disconnecting itself with neo-Nazi and skinhead movements in the mid-1990s. The party had flyers printed by the [[French National Front]] in the 1998 general election,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/inrikes/did_2275826.asp |title=Extremparti får mothugg |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |date=4 May 2002 |access-date=25 May 2006 |language=sv |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310201400/http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/inrikes/did_2275826.asp |archive-date=10 March 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sverigedemokraterna.se/sd/asikter_skolwebb_utl.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040617030323/http://www.sverigedemokraterna.se/sd/asikter_skolwebb_utl.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 June 2004|title=Sverigedemokraternas utländska kontakter|website=Sverigedemokraterna.se|access-date=25 May 2006|language=sv}}</ref> and was financially backed for the 2004 European election by Belgian businessman and racial conspiracy theorist [[Bernard Mengal]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://hd.se/inrikes/2004/01/27/extremist-ska-finansiera-sd-s-eu/|title=Extremist ska finansiera sd:s EU-val|magazine=Helsingborgs Dagblad|date=27 January 2004|access-date=8 November 2010|language=sv|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716025526/http://hd.se/inrikes/2004/01/27/extremist-ska-finansiera-sd-s-eu/|archive-date=16 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.expressen.se/index.jsp?a=128678|title=Sverigedemokraterna får miljoner av rik rasist|newspaper=Expressen|date=24 April 2004|access-date=25 May 2006|language=sv|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050903123734/http://www.expressen.se/index.jsp?a=128678|archive-date=3 September 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the 1990s, the party was a member of the ''[[Euronat]]'' initiative which was set up by [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]] before severing ties with it in 1999.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.populismstudies.org/the-sweden-democrats-killer-of-swedish-exceptionalism/ |title=The Sweden Democrats: Killer of Swedish Exceptionalism |date=3 August 2020 |access-date=2025-02-10}}</ref> In 1999, the party program was updated to state its opposition to Nazism: "The Sweden Democrats reject with the same contempt Nazism, whose leitmotif is the Fuhrer principle, racial superiority and aggressive war, and which can be seen as a mirror image of and a reaction to Marxism." In 2005, the SD acknowledged that it had contained people with extreme political views at the time of its establishment but denied that it was founded as a neo-Nazi party or had ever endorsed fascist and national socialist ideas in its manifesto.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sverigedemokraterna.net/asikt_skolwebben_text.php?action=fullnews&id=248 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603002318/http://www.sverigedemokraterna.net/asikt_skolwebben_text.php?action=fullnews&id=248 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-06-03 |title=Nazism och rasism |access-date=2025-07-06}}</ref> As part of the moderation process, the Sweden Democrats began expelling extreme far-right members from the early 2000s onwards and in 2010 updated the party constitution to include clauses against racism, extremism and criminal behaviour. Since the 2010s, the SD has also sought to distance itself from far-right parties in Europe, including turning down an invitation to join an alliance in the [[European Parliament]] with the French National Front in 2014 and choosing to ally themselves with more moderate parties during the 2014 and 2019 European elections.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://results.elections.europa.eu/en/national-results/sweden/2014-2019/constitutive-session/ |title=Sweden |work=2024 European election results |access-date=2025-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/36661/chapter-abstract/321675362?redirectedFrom=fulltext |title=Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy: An Acceptable Marriage of Convenience |date=January 2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197500859.003.0004 |isbn=978-0-19-750085-9 |access-date=2025-02-10}}</ref>

In June 2025, the SD leadership issued an official apology for the party's historical links to neo-fascist and neo-Nazi figures and groups, with SD spokesman [[Mattias Karlsson (politician, born 1977)|Mattias Karlsson]] stating "That there have been clear expressions of antisemitism and support for National Socialist ideas in my party's history, I think, is disgusting and reprehensible. I would like to reiterate the party's apology, above all to Swedish citizens of Jewish descent who may have felt a strong sense of insecurity and fear for good reasons."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-859144 |title=Sweden Democrats apologize for past Nazi links, antisemitism as election nears |date=26 June 2025 |access-date=2025-06-27}}</ref>

=== Isolation in parliament ===
Both before and after the [[2010 Swedish general election]] all the major parties, including the [[Swedish Social Democrats]] and the [[Moderate Party]], declared they would not collaborate or work with the Sweden Democrats. The move was described by international pundits as an unofficial ''[[Cordon sanitaire (politics)|cordon sanitaire]]''.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.thelocal.se/20100921/29156| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171020140802/https://www.thelocal.se/20100921/29156| archive-date = 20 October 2017| title = Economy trumps welfare worries in tight Swedish election – The Local}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2018/09/03/how-the-rise-of-the-swedish-radical-right-changed-the-most-stable-party-system-in-europe/|title=How the rise of the Swedish radical right changed the most stable party system in Europe|date=3 September 2018|access-date=21 February 2021|archive-date=1 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301075055/https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2018/09/03/how-the-rise-of-the-swedish-radical-right-changed-the-most-stable-party-system-in-europe/|url-status=live}}</ref> The policy of non-cooperation was kept in place for the [[2014 Swedish general election]]. Following the 2018 general election, which saw the disintegration of the centre-right [[Alliance (Sweden)|Alliance]], Christian Democrats leader [[Ebba Busch]] and Moderates leader [[Ulf Kristersson]] signaled an end to the non-cooperation policy and began talks with the SD. The policy of non-cooperation was officially scrapped by the Moderates, Christian Democrats and The Liberals for the 2022 election when all four parties signed the [[Tidö Agreement]].<ref name="auto5"/><ref name="auto3"/>

=== Media boycotts ===
The Sweden Democrats have complained about difficulties buying advertising space before elections due to the media banning the party from advertising and have accused media outlets of political bias and trying to censor or limit the party's campaign messages during elections.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bhhrg.org/CountryReport.asp?ChapterID=239&CountryID=51&ReportID=83|title=Swedish General Election 2002 : media coverage|publisher=[[British Helsinki Human Rights Group]]|access-date=1 August 2006|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927212926/http://www.bhhrg.org/CountryReport.asp?ChapterID=239&CountryID=51&ReportID=83|archive-date=27 September 2007}}</ref> This has been criticised by free speech organisations in Sweden and abroad.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.internationalfreepresssociety.org/2009/09/locking-out-the-sweden-democrats/|title=Locking Out the Sweden Democrats|publisher=International Free Press Society (IFPS)|date=18 September 2009|access-date=8 November 2010|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120803193403/http://www.internationalfreepresssociety.org/2009/09/locking-out-the-sweden-democrats/|archive-date=3 August 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 16 June 2006, ''[[Dagens Nyheter]]'' and ''[[Svenska Dagbladet]]'' decided to stop their boycott. ''[[Expressen]]'', however, still{{when|date=January 2021}} retains a ban on Sweden Democrat advertising.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/fritt-fram-for-sverigedemokraterna-att-annonsera/ |title=Fritt fram för Sverigedemokraterna att annonsera |newspaper=Dagens Nyheter |date=16 June 2006 |access-date=1 August 2006 |language=sv |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714092722/http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/fritt-fram-for-sverigedemokraterna-att-annonsera-1.654627 |archive-date=14 July 2011 }}</ref> During the [[2010 Swedish general election]], broadcaster [[TV4 (Swedish TV channel)|TV4]] refused to air a Sweden Democrats campaign video which depicted a Swedish pensioner being outrun by [[burqa|burka]]-clad women with [[Baby transport|prams]].<ref name=aljazeera>{{Cite news |title=Far-right tests Swedish tolerance |first=Cajsa |last=Wikstrom |newspaper=[[Al Jazeera English]] |date=19 September 2010 |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2010/09/201091691137186652.html |access-date=20 September 2010 |archive-date=17 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317113811/http://english.aljazeera.net//indepth/2010/09/201091691137186652.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/XkRRdth8AHc Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20100905194156/http://www.youtube.com//watch?v=XkRRdth8AHc Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|last=((SDReklam2010))|title=Sverigedemokraternas valfilm 2010|date=26 August 2010|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XkRRdth8AHc|access-date=22 October 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> TV4's decision was criticized by both free speech advocates and politicians from Denmark, including by [[Danish People's Party]] leader [[Pia Kjærsgaard]], [[Venstre (Denmark)|Venstre]] and the [[Conservative People's Party (Denmark)|Conservative People's Party]] (the latter of whom reacted to TV4's decision to ban the video by calling for international election observers to be sent to Sweden), and by members of the Norwegian [[Progress Party (Norway)|Progress Party]] who called the decision a "violation of democratic rules". The SD subsequently uploaded the video to [[YouTube]] where it was viewed over a million times.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/norsk-politikk/artikkel.php?artid=10026922|work=[[Verdens Gang]] (NTB)|title=Frp: – Svensk brudd på demokratiske spilleregler|date=31 August 2010|access-date=1 November 2010|language=no|archive-date=5 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100905142841/http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/norsk-politikk/artikkel.php?artid=10026922|url-status=live}}</ref> Swedish political journalist Hanne Kjöller argued that attempts to censor the SD in 2010 by the media and left-wing protest groups ultimately backfired and ended up [[Streisand effect|emboldening their support by giving them more publicity]].<ref>[https://www.dn.se/ledare/signerat/sverigedemokraterna-blommogram-till-extremvanstern/ "Sverigedemokraterna: Blommogram till extremvänstern"]  ''Dagens Nyheter'' 18 September 2010</ref><ref name=aft>{{cite news|url=http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/uriks/article3795398.ece|work=[[Aftenposten]]|title=Skandinavisk "krig" før valget|first=Jon Robin|last=Halle|date=3 September 2010|access-date=1 November 2010|language=no|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906144500/http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/uriks/article3795398.ece|archive-date=6 September 2010}}</ref><ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,715107,00.html Danish Politicians Call for Election Observers in Sweden] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101212063619/http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,715107,00.html |date=12 December 2010 }} ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' 1 September 2010</ref>

=== Muhammad cartoon debate ===
After the Danish daily newspaper ''[[Jyllands-Posten]]'' published twelve cartoons depicting [[Muhammad]] and ignited [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|a controversy]] during the{{nbsp}}2005 autumn and winter, the Sweden Democrats gave their unreserved support to the publication with reference to the [[freedom of speech]]. SD{{nbsp}}stated that it saw no reason why a Danish newspaper should be forced to abide by Muslim rules and prohibitions regarding expression. When the boycott of Danish products was launched in the Middle East, SD{{nbsp}}launched a "Buy Danish" campaign in support of Danish workers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sverigedemokraterna.net/kampanj_dk.php?action=fullnews&id=569|title=Stöd Danmark—Köp danskt!|website=Sverigedemokraterna.se|date=13 February 2006|access-date=25 May 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502182151/http://www.sverigedemokraterna.net/kampanj_dk.php?action=fullnews&id=569<!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=2 May 2006|language=sv}}</ref>{{third-party inline|date=September 2012}} In 2006 SD entered [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|the Muhammad cartoon debate]] by publishing a cartoon depicting Muhammad on its youth league (SDU) and ''SD-Kuriren'' ({{IPA|sv|ˈɛ̂sːdeːkɵˌriːrɛn|pron|Sv-SD-Kuriren.ogg}}) websites. The cartoon showed Muhammad from behind holding a mirror in front of his face. However, instead of any facial features, the mirror showed only a blank head. The cartoon was captioned "Muhammad's Face" ({{langx|sv|Muhammeds ansikte|links=no}} {{IPA|sv|mɵˈhǎmːɛds ˈânːsɪktɛ||Sv-Muhammeds ansikte.ogg}}).<ref name="autogenerated44">{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/muhammedteckningar-borta-efter-saposamtal/ |title=Muhammedteckningar borta efter Säposamtal |newspaper=Dagens Nyheter |date=10 February 2006 |access-date=25 May 2006 |language=sv |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091206050438/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/muhammedteckningar-borta-efter-saposamtal-1.628077 |archive-date=6 December 2009 }}</ref>

The publication attracted the attention of the Swedish government, which informed internet service provider ''Levonline'' about the SD's publications. Subsequently, ''Levonline'' shut down SD's web page. The [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)|Minister for Foreign Affairs]], [[Laila Freivalds]], denied any direct interference. However, at the same time, Laila Freivalds condemned the publication as a provocation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/regeringen-har-inte-varit-inblandad/ |title=Regeringen har inte varit inblandad |newspaper=Dagens Nyheter |date=10 February 2006 |access-date=26 May 2006 |language=sv |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714092716/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/regeringen-har-inte-varit-inblandad-1.674039 |archive-date=14 July 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/sapo-forsvarar-beslut-att-stanga-sd-sajt/ |title=Säpo försvarar beslut att stänga SD-sajt |newspaper=Dagens Nyheter |date=10 February 2006 |access-date=26 May 2006 |language=sv |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714092606/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/sapo-forsvarar-beslut-att-stanga-sd-sajt-1.773593 |archive-date=14 July 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/mycket-kravs-for-sajtstangning/ |title=Mycket krävs för sajtstängning |newspaper=Dagens Nyheter |date=10 February 2006 |access-date=26 May 2006 |language=sv |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714092711/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/mycket-kravs-for-sajtstangning-1.681494 |archive-date=14 July 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/sapo-lagger-locket-pa/ |title=Säpo lägger locket på |newspaper=Dagens Nyheter |date=10 February 2006 |access-date=25 May 2006 |language=sv |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714092726/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/sapo-lagger-locket-pa-1.659632 |archive-date=14 July 2011 }}</ref> Freivalds then resigned from the [[Persson Cabinet]] after being accused of interference with press freedom and lying about such actions.

This event spurred debate on government censorship in Sweden. The Sweden Democrats also had a [[hate speech]] charge filed against them due to the posted caricature.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/centerpartist-polisanmaler-sverigedemokraterna/ |title=Centerpartist polisanmäler Sverigedemokraterna |newspaper=Dagens Nyheter |date=14 February 2006 |access-date=25 May 2006 |language=sv |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714092705/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/centerpartist-polisanmaler-sverigedemokraterna-1.505666 |archive-date=14 July 2011 }}</ref> Similar hate speech charges were filed against other Swedish publishers who had depicted Muhammad.<ref name="autogenerated44" /> However, these charges were immediately deemed to be unfounded by the [[Chancellor of Justice (Sweden)|Swedish Chancellor of Justice]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/inrikes/did_11790299.asp |title=Kritik mot stängning av nättidning |newspaper=Svenska Dagbladet |date=10 February 2006 |access-date=25 May 2006 |language=sv |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060428051354/http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/inrikes/did_11790299.asp |archive-date=28 April 2006 }}</ref>

The Sweden Democrats originally planned to publish a set of cartoons in their newspaper ''SD-Kuriren''. However, after the controversy erupted, Jimmie Åkesson issued a statement on SD's website on 9 February 2006, stating that they would refrain from further publications online and in print, due to concerns that publishing might spur hostile actions against Swedes and Swedish interests.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sdkuriren.se/nyheter.php?action=fullnews&id=1369|title=Vädjanden från landsmän fick oss att stanna upp|publisher=SD Kuriren|date=9 February 2006|access-date=25 May 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908135455/http://www.sdkuriren.se/nyheter.php?action=fullnews&id=1369<!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=8 September 2006|language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sdkuriren.se/nyheter.php?action=fullnews&id=1372|title=Sverigedemokratisk Ungdom tar bort bilder efter samtal med SÄPO|publisher=SD Kuriren|date=10 February 2006|access-date=25 May 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060922073908/http://www.sdkuriren.se/nyheter.php?action=fullnews&id=1372<!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=22 September 2006|language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sdkuriren.se/nyheter.php?action=fullnews&id=1368|title=Sverigedemokraterna avstår från vidare publicering av Muhammedbilder av hänsyn till svenska liv|publisher=SD Kuriren|date=9 February 2006|access-date=25 May 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807130853/http://www.sdkuriren.se/nyheter.php?action=fullnews&id=1368<!--Manually retrieved archive-->|archive-date=7 August 2007|language=sv}}</ref>{{third-party inline|date=September 2012}}

The shutdown of the Sweden Democrats' websites was reported to the [[Committee on the Constitution]] by the [[Liberals (Sweden)|Liberal People's Party]] leader [[Lars Leijonborg]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/stangning-av-sd-sajt-till-ku/ |title=Stängning av SD-sajt till KU |newspaper=Dagens Nyheter |date=11 February 2006 |access-date=25 May 2006 |language=sv |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100824025713/http://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/stangning-av-sd-sajt-till-ku-1.760849 |archive-date=24 August 2010 }}</ref> SD filed complaints against the [[Swedish Security Service|Security Service]] (''Säpo'') and the [[Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)|Ministry for Foreign Affairs]] with the ''Justitiekansler'' and ''[[Parliamentary Ombudsman|Justitieombudsmannen]]'', alleging that the government's interference was unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sdkuriren.se/nyheter.php?action=fullnews&id=1371|title=Sverigedemokraterna anmäler UD och SÄPO till JO och JK|access-date=25 May 2006|publisher=SD Kuriren|date=10 February 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060921180848/http://www.sdkuriren.se/nyheter.php?action=fullnews&id=1371<!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=21 September 2006|language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite report |title=Fråga om Säkerhetspolisen eller Utrikesdepartementet agerat i strid med yttrandefrihetsgrundlagens censurförbud |date=24 March 2006 |url=https://www.jk.se/beslut-och-yttranden/2006/03/1319-06-21/ |publisher=[[Chancellor of Justice (Sweden)|Chancellor of Justice]] |id=Registration number 21 June 1319|language=Swedish}}</ref>{{third-party inline|date=September 2012}} The spokesperson of the [[Green Party (Sweden)|Green Party]], [[Peter Eriksson (politician)|Peter Eriksson]], also criticised the involvement of the [[Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Sweden)|Ministry for Foreign Affairs]] in the event.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Inte UD:s ansvar stänga SD-sajt |url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/politik/inte-uds-ansvar-stanga-sd-sajt/ |last=Sedvallson |first=Kerstin |date=11 February 2006 |access-date=11 August 2022 |work=[[Dagens Nyheter]] |language=Swedish}}</ref>

=== Racist incidents and expulsions ===
The Sweden Democrats have, among all Swedish parliamentary parties, had the largest share of elected municipal representatives resign since the 2010 elections (27.8%).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/hot-tommer-sd-stolar-i-kommunerna/|title=Hot tömmer SD-stolar i kommunerna – DN.SE|date=9 November 2011|newspaper=[[Dagens Nyheter]]|language=sv-se|access-date=15 January 2017}}</ref> Many of these resignations were brought on by racist statements or actions by these representatives.<ref name=":0" />

In November 2012, party spokesperson [[Erik Almqvist]] resigned after he had been caught on tape making racist and sexist statements.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/almqvist-tvingades-bort-efter-filmen/|title=Almqvist tvingades bort efter filmen|newspaper=Expressen|access-date=15 January 2017}}</ref> In November 2012, parliamentarian [[Lars Isovaara]] resigned after accusing two people of foreign origin of stealing his bag (which Isovaara had left at a restaurant) and then proceeding to verbally abuse a security guard of a foreign background.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.svd.se/sd-backar-om-stold-fran-isovaara|title=SD backar om "stöld" från Isovaara|last=TT|newspaper=SvD.se|access-date=15 January 2017}}</ref> Isovaara's replacement in parliament, [[Markus Wiechel]], was found in April 2013 to have referred to a group of black people as "monkeys" in a Facebook comment back in 2011. Wiechel later apologised and stated the comment had been in reference to a video of a tribal witch burning in Africa.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thelocal.se/20130426/47570|title=Sweden Democrat MP in racist Facebook chat|date=26 April 2013|access-date=15 January 2017}}</ref>

In March 2013, 12 individuals were thrown out of the party for their involvement in [[Nazism in Sweden|neo-Nazi]] or other extremist movements.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.svd.se/tolv-personer-utesluts-ur-sd|title=Tolv personer utesluts ur SD|last=TT|newspaper=SvD.se|access-date=15 January 2017}}</ref> In November 2013, parliamentarian and then vice party leader [[Jonas Åkerlund (politician)|Jonas Åkerlund]] gained attention for having called immigrants "parasites" during a broadcast on SD's own radio station in 2002, after the recording was publicly rediscovered. In his defence, Åkerlund stated that he only said it to provoke people.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article17830641.ab|title=SD-toppens rasistiska uttalanden|newspaper=Aftonbladet.se|access-date=15 January 2017}}</ref> In September 2014, the party chairman of the local [[Stockholm]] branch, [[Christoffer Dulny]] was asked to resign from his position after it was found he had previously posted mocking comments about immigrants, calling them "shameless liars" on [[Alternative media|alternative media sites]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/expressen-avslojar/har-ar-sd-toppens-inlagg-pa-hatsajten/|title=Här är SD-toppens inlägg på hatsajten|newspaper=Expressen.se|access-date=9 February 2017}}</ref> He also resigned from parliament on the same day.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/christoffer-dulny-lamnar-fler-uppdrag/|title=Christoffer Dulny lämnar fler uppdrag|newspaper=Expressen.se|access-date=9 February 2017}}</ref>

In October 2016, a video of the parliamentarian and economic policy spokesperson [[Oscar Sjöstedt]] laughing at [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] jokes was released by a former school friend of his who also accused Sjöstedt of chanting fascist slogans. Whilst at a party believed to have been organized by the neo-Nazi group ''[[Info-14]]'' in 2011 when Sjöstedt was a member of the SD's youth wing, he laughingly told a story about former co-workers with [[Nazism|Nazi]] sympathies mocking Jews and comparing them to sheep. Following an investigation by the SD, Sjöstedt stated that a friend had invited him to the party but he had walked out upon discovering who had organized it and denied expressing fascist statements.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SD-toppen gick på en nazistspelning 2005|url=https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/sd-toppen-gick-pa-en-nazistspelning-2005/|access-date=23 January 2021|website=www.expressen.se|date=11 October 2016 |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|last2=|date=11 October 2016|title=Oscar Sjöstedt gick på nazistspelning|url=https://www.di.se/nyheter/oscar-sjostedt-gick-pa-nazistspelning/|access-date=23 January 2021|website=Dagens industri|language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.expressen.se/nyheter/har-skamtar-sjostedt-sd-grovt-om-judar/|title=Här skämtar Sjöstedt (SD) grovt om judar|newspaper=Expressen.se|access-date=14 February 2017}}</ref> During the same month, the parliamentarian and second deputy party leader [[Carina Ståhl Herrstedt|Carina Herrstedt]] was confronted with having sent an allegedly [[Racism|racist]], [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]], [[Homophobia|homophobic]] and [[Anti-Romanyism|anti-romanyist]] email to her then spouse in 2011. The email, which had been leaked from the party's internal servers, for instance contained phrases that referred to black [[association football|football]] players from the team [[Landskrona BoIS]] as "[[negro]]es" whilst also picturing [[Romani people]] as thieves. The email was meant to be playful and ironic, Herrstedt said to [[Aftonbladet]].<ref>{{Cite news|language=sv |url=http://www.expressen.se/kvallsposten/sd-toppens-skamt-om-judar-och-romer/ |title=SD-toppens 'skämt' om judar och romer|trans-title=The SD representative's "joke" about Jews and Romani people |newspaper=[[Aftonbladet]]|access-date=14 February 2017 |last=Holm |first=Gusten}}</ref>

Between 2015 and 2016, various members of the party were expelled from the SD for expressing extremist or racist views,<ref name="thelocal2">{{cite news |date=22 April 2015 |title=Sweden Democrat youth leaders face expulsion |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20150422/sweden-democrat-youth-leaders-face-expulsion |work=[[The Local]] |location=[[Stockholm]] |access-date=2 September 2018}}</ref><ref name="SVR2">{{cite news |date=5 December 2016 |title=Sweden Democrats expel MP after antisemitism accusations |url=https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=6580112 |work=[[Sveriges Radio]] |location=[[Stockholm]] |access-date=2 September 2018}}</ref><ref name="Heinisch">{{cite book |last1=Heinisch |first1=Reinhard |last2=Mazzoleni |first2=Oscar |date=2016 |title=Understanding Populist Party Organisation: The Radical Right in Western Europe |location=London |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |pages=204–207 |isbn=978-1-137-58196-9 }}</ref> or because of disagreement with the party's shift towards [[Centrism|moderation]] and [[social conservatism]].<ref name="Heinisch"/> In April 2015, the [[Sweden Democratic Youth]] leaders were also expelled for these reasons,<ref name="thelocal2"/><ref name="Heinisch"/> and the organisation was dissolved shortly after with the mother party issuing a warning for remaining SDU members to leave the youth wing or be expelled from the party.<ref name="Heinisch"/> In December 2016, the parliamentarian [[Anna Hagwall]] was thrown out of the party after using arguments associated with [[antisemitism]] to argue for a bill that she introduced in parliament intended to reduce [[concentration of media ownership]] in Sweden.<ref name="SVR2"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/sverigedemokraterna-utesluter-anna-hagwall/|title=Sverigedemokraterna utesluter Anna Hagwall – DN.SE|date=5 December 2016|newspaper=[[Dagens Nyheter]]|language=sv-se|access-date=15 January 2017}}</ref>

In September 2017, a report from ''Dagens ETC'' found that 14 former municipal representatives of the party had infiltrated the SD in order to financially support the [[Nordic Resistance Movement]],<ref name="ETC1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.etc.se/inrikes/sd-topp-medlem-i-nazistgrupp-en-god-sak|title=SD-topp medlem i nazistgrupp: "En god sak"|date=12 September 2017|newspaper=ETC|access-date=2 September 2018}}</ref><ref name="ETC2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.etc.se/inrikes/har-ar-sd-politikerna-som-stottat-nazistgruppen-nmr|title=Här är SD-politikerna som stöttat nazistgruppen NMR|date=12 September 2017|newspaper=ETC|access-date=2 September 2018}}</ref> a neo-Nazi organisation, through [[financial transaction]]s,<ref name="ETC1"/><ref name="ETC2"/> memberships,<ref name="ETC1"/><ref name="ETC2"/> or purchases of antisemitic and racist literature or souvenirs.<ref name="ETC1"/><ref name="ETC2"/> In August 2018, 2 members were kicked out due to purchases of [[Nazi memorabilia]] online;<ref name="SVR3">{{cite news |date=30 August 2018 |title=Two Sweden Democrats kicked out of party for Nazi purchases, Hitler support |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20180830/two-sweden-democrats-kicked-out-of-party-for-nazi-purchases-hitler-support |work=[[Sveriges Radio]] |location=[[Stockholm]]}}</ref> following the expulsions, Michael Erlandsson, one of the SD's spokespeople,<ref name="SVR3"/> publicly stated that people who "have these types of views and share these types of materials" have no place in the party and that the SD maintains a zero-tolerance stance on expressing fascist views.<ref name="SVR3"/> 14 candidates were expelled from the party as well after being exposed as former members of neo-Nazi organisations.<ref name="Expressen">{{cite news |last1=Baas |first1=David |last2=Rogvall |first2=Filippa |date=31 August 2018 |title=14 SD-politiker lämnar – efter nazistavslöjanden |url=https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/fjorton-sd-politiker-lamnar-efter-nazistavslojanden/ |work=[[Expressen]] |location=[[Stockholm]]}}</ref> Referring to the latest expulsions, SD leader [[Jimmie Åkesson]] declared that the party "works extremely hard to keep clean".<ref name="Expressen"/>

In 2017, Martin Strid, party spokesman in [[Borlänge]], appeared to state at a televised SD rally that Muslims were not "fully human" and humane. Strid's comments were met with condemnation within the SD. Åkesson and SD party secretary [[Richard Jomshof]] described them as racist, with Jomshof stating the SD advocates ideological criticism, but not violating human rights. SD board member [[Aron Emilsson]] said that Strid would face a disciplinary meeting for violating the party's code of conduct. In response, Strid said he had expressed himself "clumsily" but chose to quit the party after being given an ultimatum to resign or be expelled.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/swedish-politician-muslims-not-completely-human-martin-strid-mohammedan-sverigedemokraterna-a8077521.html |title=Swedish politician forced to resign after saying Muslims are 'not fully human'|website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |date=27 November 2017 |access-date=2024-09-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/muslims-sweden-martin-strid-muslims-not-human-politician-islam-722921 |title=Muslims Are The Opposite Of Human, Swedish Democrat Says|website=[[Newsweek]] |date=27 November 2017 |access-date=2024-09-17}}</ref>

In March 2022, parliamentarian [[Roger Richthoff]] was sacked from his role as party defense spokesman and subsequently expelled from the SD and banned by the party from standing as a candidate for them in the [[2022 Swedish general election]] after posting controversial comments on [[Twitter]], including sharing a video supporting Russia in the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]] in which several [[antisemitic conspiracy theories]] were presented.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SD-ledamot i försvarsutskottet sprider film som tackar Ryssland för invasionen |url=https://expo.se/2022/03/sd-ledamot-i-forsvarsutskottet-sprider-film-som-tackar-ryssland-for-invasionen |access-date=30 March 2022 |website=Expo.se |date=28 March 2022 |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Richtoff (SD) blir politisk vilde |url=https://www.altinget.se/artikel/richtoff-sd-blir-politisk-vilde |access-date=30 March 2022 |website=Altinget.se |date=30 March 2022 |language=sv-SE}}</ref> In December 2025, parliamentarian [[Göran Hargestam]] resigned his seat after a scandal in which he was found to have kept a collection of [[Nazi memorabilia]] in an office in [[Valdemarsvik]].<ref>{{cite web|date=4 December 2025|title=Efter avslöjande om nazistföremål – SD-politiker avgår|url=https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/ost/efter-avslojande-om-nazistforemal-sd-politiker-avgar|author-last=Lingefjord|author-first=Martina|access-date=5 December 2025|work=SVT}}</ref>

Researcher on Nordic nationalism [[Benjamin R. Teitelbaum]] described the present day version Sweden Democrats as paradoxical compared to other European nationalist parties on the issues of racism and radicalism among its members. Teitelbaum notes that in contrast to other Nordic and wider European populist parties, the SD differs by having a past rooted in white nationalism and extremism, but in the present day is comparably more proactive in rejecting ethno-nationalism and expelling members who make racist statements to the point where he considers the SD to be on the "softer side" of national-populism.<ref name="auto7"/> Similar observations were made by British conservative author [[Douglas Murray (author)|Douglas Murray]] who described the SD as undergoing one of the most significant transformations on the European political right from a party on the fringes that openly pushed extreme tendencies to a more mainstream movement that draws on diverse support.<ref name="Murray">{{cite news |last1=Murray |first1=Douglas |author1-link=Douglas Murray (author) |title=How the Sweden Democrats came in from the cold |url=https://unherd.com/2020/02/how-the-sweden-democrats-came-in-from-the-cold/ |access-date=29 July 2023 |work=[[UnHerd]] |date=28 February 2020 |archive-date=1 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001012245/https://unherd.com/2020/02/how-the-sweden-democrats-came-in-from-the-cold/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Kateřina Lišaníková argued that out of all the parties in Sweden, the SD was more likely to attract individual members who made extreme statements regarding immigrants but this was a consequence of the SD being the only party in the Riksdag willing to challenge the political consensus on immigration for several years as opposed to the SD itself being an extremist or racist party.<ref name=":4"/>

[[Ashley Fox]], leader of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|British Conservative]] [[Member of the European Parliament|MEPs]], praised the Sweden Democrats regarding the party's policy decisions on the expulsion of extremist and racist members:<ref name="Independent2"/> "Over the past decade the Sweden Democrats have made progress in reforming themselves, expelling any members displaying unacceptable views or behaviour and diversifying their party base."<ref name="Independent2"/>

=== Iron pipe scandal ===
{{main|Iron pipe scandal}}
On November 14, 2012, Erik Almqvist, in addition to party spokesperson [[Kent Ekeroth]] and party official Christian Westling were filmed arming themselves with iron pipes before they sought out a confrontation with [[Soran Ismail]], a Swedish comedian of [[Kurds|Kurdish]] descent.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-03-25 |orig-date=2012-11-15 |title=Åkesson tveksam om Ekeroths framtid |trans-title=Åkesson unsure about Ekeroth's future |url=http://www.svt.se/nyheter/sverige/akesson-tveksam-om-ekeroth |access-date=2024-07-29 |newspaper=[[Sveriges Television]] |language=sv}}</ref>

=== Splinter parties ===
Since the SD's inception, breakaway parties have been formed by former SD members, many of whom were either removed from the party due to controversial actions or resigned after the SD began to ideologically shift and moderate itself.

In 1995, former SD spokesman [[Leif Zeilon]] established the [[Conservative Party (Sweden)|Homeland Party]] along with other founding members of the SD after Anders Klarström was replaced as party chairman by a less hardline leadership.<ref name="Så ska de slå ut SD">{{cite web |last=Marmorstein |first=Elisabeth |date=14 May 2009 |title=Så ska de slå ut SD |trans-title=That's how they'll knock out the SD |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/L0oj6x/sa-ska-de-sla-ut-sd |access-date=31 January 2024 |website=[[Aftonbladet]] |language=sv}}</ref>

In 2001, a major breakaway occurred when the more radical ethno-nationalist faction of the SD's national board and their supporters were collectively expelled and formed the [[National Democrats (Sweden)|National Democrats]] party.<ref name="Så ska de slå ut SD"/>

On 18 March 2018, [[Alternative for Sweden]] (AfS) was formed by former members of the SD's old youth wing after they were kicked out of the party after alleged ties with extremist groups and for coming into conflict with the mother party. Three SD parliamentarians joined Alternative for Sweden but all lost their seats during the 2018 general election.<ref name=":7" /> AfS's policies have been criticised as too extreme by members of the SD such as [[Henrik Vinge]].<ref name=":7">{{cite web |last=Svensson |first=Niklas |author-link=Niklas Svensson |date=5 March 2018 |title=SD:s presschef: Glad om vi slipper rasistiska åsikter |trans-title=SD's press manager: Happy if we get rid of racist views |url=https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/tidigare-sd-toppen-utmanar-akesson-med-nytt-parti/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618164455/https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/tidigare-sd-toppen-utmanar-akesson-med-nytt-parti/ |archive-date=2019-06-18 |access-date=2024-05-21 |website=[[Expressen]] |language=sv}}</ref>

===Lobbying===
The Sweden Democrats came under fire in 2015 for changing their position on profits made by private welfare companies. Before the [[2014 Swedish general election|election in 2014]] they favored having restrictions on the amount of profit that welfare companies could take and use for their own gain. Since the election, they have favored the approach of [[Alliance (Sweden)|the Alliance]] parties, that is higher and more restrictive quality standards.<ref>{{cite web |last=Harman |first=Malin |date=20 May 2015 |title=Alliansen vill se en ny utredning om privata alternativ i välfärden |trans-title=The Alliance wants to see a new investigation about private alternatives in welfare |url=http://www.alliansen.se/2015/05/valfard/ |website=[[Alliansen]]}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Current source does not support paragraph and is not neutral|date=September 2024}} This has been suspected to be because of extensive [[lobbying]] done by the organisation [[Confederation of Swedish Enterprise|Svenskt Näringsliv]] among others. The story was discovered by the Swedish newspaper ''[[Dagens Industri]]'' on 14 September 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Nordenskiöld |first1=Tomas |last2=Öhrn |first2=Linda |last3=Öjemar |first3=Fredrik |date=2015-09-14 |title=Företagen och SD ses i smyg |trans-title=The companies and the SD meet in secret |url=https://www.di.se/di/artiklar/2015/9/14/foretagen-och-sd-ses-i-smyg/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=[[Dagens industri]] |language=sv}}</ref> SD has denied all accusations of corruption.

===Anonymous social media accounts===
On May 7, 2024, one month prior to the [[2024 European Parliament election in Sweden|2024 EU elections]], the [[TV4 (Swedish TV channel)|TV4]] investigative journalism program {{lang|sv|Kalla fakta}} ('Hard Facts') premiered a two-part documentary ({{lang|sv|{{ill|Undercover i trollfabriken|sv}}}}, 'Undercover in the Troll Factory')<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kalla fakta: Undercover i trollfabriken |url=https://www.tv4play.se/program/cd339dace9a80bb132d9/kalla-fakta-undercover-i-trollfabriken |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=www.tv4play.se |language=sv}}</ref> revealing that the Sweden Democrats systematically used anonymous accounts on [[social media]] platforms such as [[TikTok]], [[Twitter|X]] and [[Facebook]]. The scoop was obtained through the use of the [[Günter Wallraff|wallraff method]] where a reporter spent five months as an employee at the previously SD-owned YouTube channel Riks as well as the party's communications department,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Hellerud |first1=Emil |last2=Andersson |first2=Daniel |date=2024-06-05 |title=SD's troll factory revealed – reporter worked undercover |url=https://www.tv4.se/artikel/4A3ctxFCytb4R7kKQanI9H/sds-troll-factory-revealed-reporter-worked-undercover |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240622214821/https://www.tv4.se/artikel/4A3ctxFCytb4R7kKQanI9H/sds-troll-factory-revealed-reporter-worked-undercover |archive-date=2024-06-22 |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=[[TV4 (Swedish TV channel)|TV4]] |language=}}</ref> documenting internal discussions on the party's communication strategies. The documentary revealed that at least 23 anonymous social media accounts were actually run from SD's communications department, spreading [[Xenophobia|xenophobic]] content and satirical attacks on opposing politicians from other parties, including [[deepfake]] videos. According to {{lang|sv|Kalla fakta}}, posts from these accounts reached 27 million views across social media platforms.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Hellerud |first1=Emil |last2=Andersson |first2=Daniel |date=2024-06-05 |title=Here are SD's 23 troll accounts – controlled by the party |url=https://www.tv4.se/artikel/BprNBEXypm6isEuiIYKwA/here-are-sds-23-troll-accounts-controlled-by-the-party |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=[[TV4 (Swedish TV channel)|TV4]] |language=}}</ref> SD's head of communication, Joakim Wallerstein, repeated earlier claims that the party does not run any anonymous social media accounts. However, according to Swedish newspaper [[Aftonbladet]], internal communication reveals that Wallerstein already in 2012 wanted to include anonymous internet campaigns as part of the party's strategy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stenquist |first=Victor |date=2024-05-17 |title=Interna mejlen avslöjar SD:s trollkonto-plan – för 12 år sen |trans-title=The internal emails reveal SD's troll-account-plan – 12 years ago |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/4Bq81E |access-date=2024-06-22 |website=[[Aftonbladet]] |language=sv}}</ref>

In an official response from the Sweden Democrats' leader Jimmie Åkesson, the {{lang|sv|Kalla fakta}} documentary was dismissed as a "gigantic, domestic influence operation by the left-liberal establishment".<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfQnKHlvEzE |title=Jimmie Åkessons tal till nationen |date=2024-05-14 |last=Åkesson |first=Jimmie |publisher=Sverigedemokraterna |trans-title=Jimmie Åkesson's speech to the nation |access-date=2024-06-22 |via=YouTube}}</ref> In numerous interviews, SD representatives toned down the content posted on the anonymous accounts as simple satire and humor material.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Parham |first=Babak |date=2024-05-17 |title=Sweden Democrats will not delete anonymous accounts |url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/sweden-democrats-will-not-delete-anonymous-accounts |access-date=2024-06-22 |work=Sveriges Radio |language=en}}</ref> Following the documentary, and the party's response to it, SD received massive criticism from all other Swedish parliamentary parties.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hielle |first1=Lars-Peter |last2=Forsberg |first2=Daniel |date=2024-05-15 |title=Trollhistorien påverkar inte Tidö-samarbetet: 'Det ska fortsätta' |trans-title=The troll story does not affect the Tidö cooperation: "It will continue" |url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/trollhistorien-paverkar-inte-tido-samarbetet-det-ska-fortsatta |access-date=2024-06-22 |work=[[Sveriges Radio]] |language=sv}}</ref> The government parties accused SD of not following the [[Tidö Agreement]], which contains a clause about showing respect towards other parties. After a meeting on May 16, SD agreed that some of the anonymous accounts' posts went against the agreement and agreed to delete 45 posts. They did not agree to stop running anonymous accounts but said they would use a softer tone towards parties in the Tidö coalition.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Haglund |first1=Anja |last2=Svahn |first2=Niklas |last3=Wallberg |first3=Peter |last4=Ekström |first4=Johanna |date=2024-05-16 |title=SD ber om ursäkt – men stänger inte konton |trans-title=SD apologizes – but does not disable accounts |url=https://www.svd.se/a/vgQK1X/l-det-maste-fa-konsekvenser |access-date=2024-07-06 |work=Svenska Dagbladet |language=sv |issn=1101-2412 |quote=Vi är överens om vissa inlägg och tonaliteten i dem och att de inte ligger i linje med den respektklausul som finns i Tidöavtalet |trans-quote=We are in agreement about some posts and the tone of them and that they don't follow the respect clause of the Tidö agreement}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of political parties in Sweden]]
* [[New Democracy (Sweden)|New Democracy]] (1991–2000)

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |first1=Christoffer |last1=Green-Pedersen |first2=Pontus |last2=Odmalm |title=Going different ways? Right-wing parties and the immigrant issue in Denmark and Sweden |series=Immigration and Integration Policy in Europe |year=2009 |publisher=Routledge |pages=53–67}}
* {{cite book |first1=Diana |last1=Mulinari |first2=Anders |last2=Neergaard |year=2012 |title=The Sweden Democrats, racisms and the construction of the Muslim threat |series=Global Islamophobia: Muslims and Moral Panic in the West |place=London |publisher=Ashgate}}
* {{cite journal |first1=Diana |last1=Mulinari |first2=Anders |last2=Neergaard |title=We are Sweden Democrats because we care for others: Exploring racisms in the Swedish extreme right |journal=European Journal of Women's Studies |date=February 2014 |volume=21 |number=1 |pages=43–56 |doi=10.1177/1350506813510423|s2cid=46645622 |url=http://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:710302/FULLTEXT01 }}
* {{cite book |first1=Simon |last1=Oja |first2=Brigitte |last2=Mral |author-link2=Brigitte Mral |title=The Sweden Democrats Came In from the Cold: How the Debate about Allowing the SD into Media Arenas Shifted between 2002 and 2010 |series=Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse |publisher=Bloomsbury |place=London/New York |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-78093-343-6 |pages=277–292}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJFaXe6I74MC|title=From tax populism to ethnic nationalism: Radical right-wing populism in Sweden|first=Jens|last=Rydgren|author-link=Jens Rydgren|year=2006|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=978-1-84545-218-6|access-date=5 March 2016}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category-inline|Sverigedemokraterna}}
*{{in lang|sv}} {{official website|https://www.sverigedemokraterna.se/ }}
*{{in lang|sv}} [https://jimmieakesson.se/ Jimmie Åkesson's website]
*{{in lang|sv}} [https://sd.se/nyheter/ SD-Kuriren]
*{{in lang|sv}} [https://www.ungsvenskarna.se/ Young Swedes SDU]

{{Portal bar|Politics|Sweden|Conservatism}}
{{Sweden Democrats}}
{{Swedish nationalism and fascism}}
{{Swedish political parties}}
{{Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sweden Democrats| ]]
[[Category:1988 establishments in Sweden]]
[[Category:Anti-immigration politics in Europe]]
[[Category:Anti-Islam political parties in Europe]]
[[Category:Anti-Islam sentiment in Sweden]]
[[Category:Anti-gender movement in Sweden]]
[[Category:Conservative parties in Sweden]]
[[Category:Counter-jihad]]
[[Category:Euronat members]]
[[Category:European Conservatives and Reformists Group member parties]]
[[Category:Eurosceptic parties in Sweden]]
[[Category:Far-right politics in Sweden]]
[[Category:Nationalist parties in Sweden]]
[[Category:National conservative parties]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1988]]
[[Category:Right-wing parties in Sweden]]
[[Category:Right-wing populism in Sweden]]
[[Category:Right-wing populist parties]]
[[Category:Socially conservative parties]]