Description: Issues of democracy and citizenship have been on the agenda for a long time in European education. In some countries they are incorporated as educational content in courses and in national curricula. However, higher education seems to be a bit of a black spot concerning these matters.In Swedish education, from pre-school to higher education, the fostering of democratic citizenship is believed to be enhanced (partly) by student participation and influence in formal decision-making processes and educational processes. Throughout the post-war period, educational content and methods linked to democratic values and processes have been stressed in national curricula for mandatory education. In higher education, students' right to participate in formal decision-making processes have likewise been safeguarded for a long time by laws and regulations. Recently, student participation and influence have been stressed even further, both by student unions and by the National Agency for Higher Education (NAHE, the national supervising authority). Such participation and influence is mostly viewed as positive for the individual student, the university and the entire society. Yet, university teachers increasingly experience problems in meeting the demands of participation and influence from the students. What is it students should participate in and have an influence on, and to what degree? What is possible and desirable to achieve? What are the drawbacks, difficulties and undesirable outcomes of student influence?This paper describes and analyses the formal conditions for student participation and influence (hereafter called to student influence) in higher education as they are laid down in the Higher Education Act and Ordinance and national policy documents produced by the NAHE. Examples from local policy documents at one university are also given and analysed. National governing of higher education in Sweden is outlined. Finally, some problems concerning the interpretation and realisation of laws and regulations in the educational practice are highlighted and discussed in relation to the contemporary context of national governing of higher education. Frame-factor theory and implementation theory are used heuristically in the analysis and discussion of the policy texts. Methodology: Policy analysis of national governing texts such as the Higher Education Act and Ordniance, reports and publications produced by the National Agency of Higher Education along with local policy documents from one university on the topic. Conclusions: A description of conditions for student participation in Swedish higher education when it comes to national intentions (policy) and the possibility to implement them in an educational practice characterised by national governing as New Public Management, per capita state grants and an increasing work load for university teachers.