DEFENDING
DEMOCRACY IN EXILE
Policy Responses to
Transnational Repression
CASE STUDY
Sweden
S
weden is one of the few countries in the world that explicitly recognize, in their national
security framework and through criminal law, the threat posed by repressive foreign
governments to residents who engage in political activism. Despite demonstrating a high
level of awareness of transnational repression, however, Sweden’s government has not
established clear methods for ensuring accountability through foreign policy or diplomatic
practice. Although Sweden has welcomed hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and lifted
the requirement to demonstrate individual persecution for some groups, the increased use
of temporary forms of protection obliges other vulnerable people to maintain contact with
repressive governments. Sweden could improve its response to transnational repression
by prioritizing human rights in foreign policy and building resilience against sources of
harassment and intimidation in the migration system.
Best practices in Sweden’s response to transnational repression:
•
The national security framework expressly recognizes the threat posed by foreign
states to individuals, including members of specific diasporas, and that this threat
interferes with the exercise of fundamental rights.
•
The documentation of “refugee espionage” cases in the security service’s annual reports
increases public awareness of transnational repression as a distinct threat.
Demonstrators gather
in front of Sweden’s
parliament on June
21, 2016 to protest
legislation that
tightened regulations
for asylum and family
reunification. Photo
credit: AFP/Stringer via
Getty Images.