This paper explores the role of institutionalized popular education for intra-party education in Swedish political parties. Research focusing on contemporary educational pathways for Swedish politicians has indicated that valued knowledge within the Swedish political culture to a significant extent seems to be acquired outside the formal education system. The parties' own educational activities, often in collaboration with study associations or folk high schools, have been pointed out as an important educational pathway in this context, especially in the labour movement. However, variations between political parties in this respect have not been explored in detail. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to identify variations between Swedish political parties regarding their intra-party education by exploring their link to institutionalized popular education (i.e. state subsidized study associations) and the level of study circle-participation among party-representatives.

The study is based on different types of data: semi-structured interviews with education leaders in parties, study associations and local politician; information available through websites, statutes, documents and study materials produced by parties and study associations; as well as information from Statistics Sweden on participation in study circles and other popular education activities among the country's 12,679 elected members of municipal councils. Research and theories on differences between parties with social movement links, i.e. movement parties, and parties without such links, is used an framework to analyze the organizational structures for intra-party education and the use of study circles.

Results show that both the connection to study associations and participation in study circles are strongest among parties with roots in old social movements (OSM): the Social Democrats and the Left Party (labour movement) and the Center Party (peasant movement). Among the newer social movement related parties (Green Party and Swedish Democrats) and the parties historically developed from parliamentary coalitions (Moderate Party and Liberals) there are large variations both regarding participation rate in study circles and collaboration with study associations. Overall, the study shows that a focus on the parties' relations to study associations illuminates central differences between how political parties organize intra-party education. It also shows that the parties' links to social movements seem to play an important, but not decisive, role in how the parties relate to the institutions and traditions of popular education.