Why Sweden's Borders Concern Europe

Sweden’s center-right government has given its electorate lower taxes, strong economic growth, and low public debt. So its defeat in the Sept. 14 election at the hands of the center-left Social Democrats, and the gains of an ultraright-wing, anti-immigration party, need some explaining.

Sweden’s immigration policies generally work. The country has developed an effective way to ensure businesses can get visas for foreign talent, and it has historically been generous in accepting refugees. In 2012 the government offered automatic asylum to applicants from Syria, and as a result it has received more Syrian refugees per capita than any other European Union country. By now, just under 16 percent of the country’s population is non-native-born, among the highest levels in Europe and more than the U.S., where that figure is just above 14 percent.