Between the media and the state: allies and antagonists in the Swedish school student movement

This presentation focuses on an event in January 1989, dubbed "Feldtslaget" by the Swedish media, in which 10,000 students protested against financial cuts in the government's education budget for the coming year. The protests consisted of demonstrations and petitions, mostly directed against the Swedish Minister of Finance, Kjell-Olof Feldt. Our analytical approach is based on historical and sociological perspectives on social movements and school student organisations. In our presentation, we want to frame the events as an expression of school students' collective action and discontent in the late welfare state era. We seek to discuss the role of the media and the state, and we will discuss the role of both allies and antagonists during the protests. Finally, seeing the event as a culmination of student protest, we reflect on factors leading to the decline and demobilisation of social movements.

The seminar will be held in English.

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