Forced by the social disorder in Europe in 1918 the Conservatives accepted the democracy, establishing a Liberal-Conservative party line. In the 1950s the party successfully mobilized against collectivist proposals from the Social Democrats. However, social reforms - with individual elements - were accepted. The party was influenced by the Beveridge plan and borrowed the Tory concept "property owning democracy". However, in the 1960s traditional values were rejected by the youth. "Conservatism" and "right" were interpreted as extremism. Heavily in debt, with weak election results and internal conflicts the defensive party accepted large parts of the welfare state. After changing the party name to the more modern Moderate Coalition Party (usually the Moderates) a new more successful era began. The global turn to the right from the 1970s strengthened economic liberalism. The social democratic trade unionś radical plan of wage earners funds was for nearly a decade an important political asset for the non-socialist parties, in close companion with the private corporations. At the same time demands on establishing American models of private welfare were defeated. Market liberalism is therefore a more pertinent concept than neoliberalism. By strongly identifying with the European integration, the party established itself as the modern alternative, while the Social Democrats were characterized as traditionalists. Returning to power in 1991, the non-socialist parties agreed on privatizations, lower taxes and individual rights written in the constitution. The non-socialists governments 1976-1982 illustrated a transfer of power, now a change of system was on the agenda.

The author analyses the operation by Swedish diplomatsin the Soviet Union during the peak of the Stalinist Terror. Although Swedish communists living in the USSR have beenin the spotlight of some journalists and historians, the extent ofthe different Swedish groups and the complicated diplomaticactions to help them are nearly unknown. Who could besaved? Who disappeared in the Gulag? The context is the Soviet actions against all foreigners in the Great Terror from 1937,forcing them to either become Soviet citizens or immediatelyleave the country. Comparisons are made with Finnish peoplein the Soviet Union, a group much harder hit by the terror thanthe small groups of Swedes.