SWEDEN

A year ago, American newspapers headlined the election

defeat of the prime architects of Sweden's famed welfare

state, the Social Democrats, who were suddenly out of power

for the first time since 1932. The shift prompted new looks by

scholars at the future of Sweden's controversial, oft-

misunderstood experiments in social and economic welfare.

Here, historian Steven Koblik assesses some long-popular

stereotypes—"socialism, sin, and suicide"—of Sweden. M.

Donald Hancock, a professor of government, reviews the

Social Democrats' troubled efforts to combine economic

growth, egalitarianism, and "compensatory" welfare. Political

scientist Steven Kelman looks at the future. Our Background

Books review-essay stresses studies of Sweden's earlier history

and culture and its neglected literature.