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The dissertation deals with the organization of political practice in Sweden 1746–1766. It focuses on the clergy and how they mobilized political activities before and during the meetings of the Diet. Previous research has described the period as being dominated by a party system where two political organizations, hats and caps, struggled to control the parliamentary system. In this dissertation two different theoretical perspectives, commonly used in the study of British politics in the eighteenth century, are utilized: social exchange and public opinion.

During the 1740s and 1750s, the bishops dominated the estate of the clergy. They used their social networks, which included kinship, friendship and patron-client ties, to influence both the diocese in which they served and national politics. Political activities were an integral part of the networks’ exchanges. Politics was a way to maintain social ties and to display personal loyalty. The norms of sociability guided political convocation.

Politics changed in the latter part of the 1750s due to Sweden’s participation in the Seven Years’ War. The economic problems following the conflict led to political dissatisfaction. A number of vicars played an important role in articulating political critique against the existing order. They demanded equal political rights and major changes to the distribution of state resources. Mobilization was based on the content of important political issues rather than patronage and the perpetuation of existing social ties. Consequently, public opinion and the distribution of pamphlets and newspapers had great political importance. These results lead to a new understanding of how politics functioned and changed in Sweden during the eighteenth century.