Eurosceptic Radical Right and Left Parties – A Common Narrative? : A framing analysis of the Sweden Democrats and the Left Party’s use of frames on migrant issues in the EAC

Framing analysis has the potential to reveal nuances that the prevalent typology of hard and soft cannot capture. While several studies explore political parties’ substantiations of their EU criticism, few have examined the differences between radical right and left Eurosceptic parties. Migration is a key issue for both radical left and right parties, therefore, understanding how they frame this issue could provide valuable insight into their argumentation. While some researchers argue that Eurosceptic radical right and left parties share a common nationalistic narrative, others dispute such a claim. This thesis aims to describe what frames two such parties, the Sweden Democrats and the Left Party, utilize to substantiate their EU criticism on migration issues, as well as the differences between them. The study employs a mixed-method approach, with an emphasis on framing analysis, by examining statements made in the Swedish European Affairs Committee (EAC) during the parliamentary years of 2020/2021–2023/2024. The findings support one of three hypotheses. The Left Party utilizes the multicultural-universalist frame in a majority of their statements on migrant issues, aligning with parts of the prior research. However, the Sweden Democrats rely more on the two ‘other’ utilitarian frames than on the ethnocultural nationalistic frame, contradicting prior research. Neither party used a nationalistic frame to a significant extent, suggesting that there is not a common narrative between the two Swedish parties. These findings highlight the need for further research.