Testing the Impact of P olitical Generations: The C lass of 94 and Pro‐feminist Ideas in the S wedish R iksdag

How can one explain the transformation of elected assemblies like national parliaments? In this study it is argued that much can be gained from taking the assumption of political generations more seriously when trying to explain transformations of the political agenda – for example, of themes and topics brought up in the parliamentary process. More specifically, the article expands on previous research in three ways: first, it launches the concept of ‘parliamentary political generation’ where the core element is the combination of an influx of large numbers of newcomers into the elected assembly and an electoral context that is formative – that is, that exhibits characteristics that distinguish the election from other elections. Second, an empirical test is conducted where other factors such as party affiliation and social background characteristics are controlled for. Finally, the test on the impact of parliamentary political generations is conducted in a context – the S wedish R iksdag – where parliamentary party groups are strong. The data used is the P arliamentary S urveys 1985–2010 conducted at the D epartment of P olitical S cience, U niversity of G othenburg, S weden. The political generation in focus is the ‘ C lass of 94’. The results show that the C lass of 94 distinguish themselves by being more feminist than their senior colleagues and other groups of newcomers in S wedish elections. This is the feminist generation in S wedish politics.