The Politics of Others : Exploring the Role of Social Identity in Swedish Left-Right Polarisation over Climate Change

The great majority of people recognize and express concern about climate change, yet scepticism toward mitigation policies remains widespread. While the reason behind such scepticism is multifaceted, research has identified a cross-national pattern where individuals on the political right appear more critical than those on the left. Part of the literature highlights social identity mechanisms as a potential driver of this divide, suggesting that individuals’ support for certain policies may hinge upon their relationship to the group identity of those who initiate them. However, few studies have investigated climate polarisation in depth outside anglophone countries or provided causal evidence of social identity mechanisms’ role in shaping attitudes. This thesis explores the influence of politically tied social identities on climate polarisation in Sweden. Building on the methodology of a prior study conducted in Australia, it employs a survey experiment on Swedish university students. The results show that the treatment, designed to trigger identification with political blocs and awareness of opposing parties’ politics, had no polarising effect on expressed climate concern or policy support. This contrasts findings from countries such as the U.S and Australia, where cues from political parties appear more influential. Although further research is needed before generalizing to Sweden as a whole, this study suggests differences in underlying mechanisms between different countries despite similarities in left-right polarisation patterns. These divergences deserve further investigation, as understanding the differences and similarities between public opinion across countries is an important part of the work to address opposition toward necessary climate measures.