THE POLITICS OF POLITICIZATION IN SWEDEN
研究瑞典1960-2010年间机构负责人招聘数据，发现政府意识形态、执政年限和议会支持度均无法解释公务员政治化现象，呼吁更多系统研究。
Previous research has described, theoretically and empirically, the negative consequences of a politicized civil service, recruited on political instead of professional merits. However, we know very little about what explains politicization, especially outside the context of the USA . This study reviews literature in the field and identifies three commonly used explanations that are then tested in a study of recruitment of agency heads in Sweden between 1960 and 2010. For this purpose, we collected new data that includes information about 1,812 agency heads' political and/or professional backgrounds and 1,608 appointments to agency head positions. Our study demonstrates that none of the previously used explanations – ideological bias of the government, the number of years that the government has been in power, and the parliamentarian support for the government – holds. Our general conclusion is therefore negative and emphasizes the need for more systematic research on this question.