Subscribe
For many years, Sweden has been plagued by gang wars and fatal shootings. The country saw the highest number of fatalities in 2022, when 62 people were killed and 107 injured in gang-related gun violence. In 2020, the corresponding figures were 47 killed and 119 injured; in 2021, 45 killed and 115 injured.
However, after 2022, the figures began to steadily decline. 2023: 53 dead and 109 injured. 2024: 44 killed and 47 injured. 2025: 44 killed and 45 injured. And now, in 2026, there have been only 10 deaths and 13 injuries up to the middle of July. Clearly, there has been a trend toward lower figures since 2022.
So, what happened?
In 2022 Sweden got a new government. After eight years of left-wing rule under the Social Democrats and the Green Party, the Nordic nation saw the installation of a distinctly conservative government. Three traditional right-wing and center-right parties took office, while cooperating closely with the right-wing conservative and nationalist Sweden Democrats.
During the two preceding terms, the Social Democrats and the Green Party had declared year after year that they would finally tackle organized crime and crush the criminal gangs. Certain sentence enhancements were implemented, and some tightening of migration policy also took place. (According to both police and research, the criminal gangs consist largely of individuals with immigrant backgrounds.)
But the results failed to materialize. Nothing happened. The gang wars intensified. Sweden’s international reputation was tarnished, and an increasing number of Swedes worried about whether they would even be able to continue living in their own country. The left-wing government simply did too little. Their actions were inadequate; they lacked the necessary ideological clarity. What needed to be done ran counter to everything that progressive left-wing thinking stands for.
When the new right-wing government took office in the autumn of 2022, it held a clear mandate from the Swedish people: halt uncontrolled mass immigration and crush the new wave of organized crime.
Politicians and officials immediately began working on a range of reforms aimed at toughening penalties, equipping the police with new and more effective tools, allocating more resources to law enforcement, and addressing the uncontrolled immigration that was fueling criminality.
A series of new laws targeting gang crime has now been implemented. The police now possess significantly expanded powers to wiretap suspects and temporarily detain individuals suspected of links to organized crime. Swedish law enforcement has improved cooperation with police forces in other countries, leading to the arrest abroad of several prominent gang criminals who had fled Sweden. Furthermore, measures have been introduced to facilitate the screening of those entering the country, making it more difficult for international theft rings to operate in Sweden.
In other words, Sweden has raised its guard. The Swedish people have demonstrated their integrity and shown that they will not accept being mistreated. Sweden has become a stronger nation—a country that deports illegal migrants and incarcerates criminals.
This recalls the old Latin adage: Si vis pacem, para bellum —if you want peace, prepare for war.
This means that a society must be capable of striking back against aggressors. Criminals need to know that breaking the law carries risks. People will not yield without putting up a fight. And what is the result? Violence decreases immediately. Aggressive and potentially dangerous individuals choose not to cause trouble if they know there will be a cost—that they will have to pay the price. If you want to live in peace and freedom, you must keep violent offenders at bay.
This reflects classic conservative thinking. Conservatives recognize that violence and malice are part of the human reality; ruthlessness and violence cannot simply be reformed away. Only a strong society can offer its citizens peace and freedom. Si vis pacem, para bellum.