THE POLITICS OF LONGING

Abstract

This thesis examines whether and how nostalgic references are employed in Swedish leftwing political discourse. Focusing on the Social Democrats and the Left Party the study analyses six speeches held by the party leaders during the election years 2014, 2018, and 2022 during Almedalsveckan. The study applies critical discourse analysis to explore how nostalgic references are formulated in relation to the present. The findings show that nostalgic references are present in every speech with varying intensity. In 2014 nostalgia was heavily subdued in tone but had become clear by 2022 in a gradual evolution of intensity explicitness. Usually, this nostalgia is focused on themes and subjects such as the people’s home or moral values such as solidarity and equality. Rather than advocating for a restoration of the past nostalgia is more commonly used in a legitimising function for present day political motives. By demonstrating that nostalgia also functions as a rhetorical resource in left-wing politics the thesis contributes toward existing research due to most of the focus having been on right-wing political discourse previously. Using Sweden as a case the thesis adds to the broader European research by showcasing that nostalgia can operate politically even in a country not defined by recent trauma such as World War Two.