The Tensions Between Children’s Rights and Punishment: A Critical Policy Analysis of the 2026 Swedish Legal Reform Lowering the Age of Criminal Responsibility to 13

Sammanfattning

The current crime debate in Sweden surrounds the overarching issue of criminal networks and children’s exploitation by them. In Sweden, younger children are getting involved in serious criminality, carrying out offences for criminal gangs such as murder and aggravated weapons crimes, which has sparked the government’s interest in possible changes to the youth criminal justice system. One of those highly questionable changes is the 2026 legal reform lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13 for serious offences. Using Carol Bacchi’s “What’s the Problem Represented to Be?” approach together with Michel Foucault’s concepts of power/knowledge and discipline and punish, this thesis investigates the recent developments in the law-making process surrounding the reform and reveals how the Swedish state problematizes delinquent children and justifies the need for such a significant change in the governance of minors. Overall, the study reveals power struggles in Sweden followed by zero-tolerance visions for any offences, which places greater interest for protecting society and crime victims, rather than delinquent children drawn into serious criminality by criminal networks. Additionally, the study reveals the constant stricter coercive measures over delinquent children, with the new reform eventually contradicting children’s rights protection under the UNCRC. Consequently, this thesis reveals governance shifts over delinquent children from welfare-oriented approaches, emphasizing rehabilitation and child-adapted interventions to punitive measures, emphasizing children’s responsibility and exclusion from society.