The purpose of the study is to examine how the democracy mission appears within the different curricula 1980 and 2022 as well as the curriculum for civics. This is done through a qualitative deductive content analysis with theoretical connections from Gilljam and Hermansson's ideal types – electoral democracy, participatory democracy and deliberative democracy. These three ideal types are the theoretical framework for how the democracy mission emerges and is constituted within the various curricula.

The essay's question is: Which type of democracy is most prominent in the 1980 and 2022 curricula as well as the curriculum for civics?

The study's results show that participatory democracy is most prominent within the curriculum for 1980, followed by deliberative democracy and limited electoral democracy. For 2022s curriculum, knowledge-based electoral democracy and deliberative democracy are most prominent and participatory democracy limited. However, it should be pointed out that within both curricula there are traces of writings and formulations that can be linked to all ideal types.