Civic-Ethnic Nationalism and the Refugee: Examples from Sweden

• In Event: 3251 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 16. Refugees in Europe and the U.S.

Abstract

This study examines the myth of Swedish national identity and its relations with refugees. It seeks to contribute to the literature of nationalism and immigration in three ways. To begin with, the study broadens our understanding of nationalism by challenging the traditional dichotomy of civic-ethnic nationalism. The Swedish case reveals that (1) the civic and ethnic definition of nationhood coexisted and mutually reinforced each other in the Swedish national identity, as reflected in the myth that the nation is one of a people with “democracy in the blood;” and (2) the language of nationhood is fluid and adaptable over time. While the discourse of civic nationalism succeeded in portraying Sweden as a democratic and egalitarian country, ethnic nationalism would be evoked whenever there are perceived threats to the nation’s integrity. Therefore, the study proposes a process-oriented approach, tracing both the construction of the national identity at certain points in time and the “critical junctures” that led to its evolution.

Furthermore, rather than framing refugees and asylum seekers as “invaders” or “threats” to the national community, the study flips the gaze around and examines “what symbolic work are the refugees doing for the construction of the nationhood?” The study shows that during the Cold War period, the refugee functioned to reassure the belief that Sweden is a distinctively consent-based nation, based on voluntarist faith in democracy, not ascriptive bloodlines. In contemporary Sweden, by representing refugees as the carrier of “undemocratic” culture(s), the nation manages to distract people’s attention away from Sweden’s real crisis of consensus. Thus, refugees are essential to the construction of modern Sweden.

Finally, the study suggests that attempts to integrate refugees should be cautious that appeals to “cultural diversity” and “multiculturalism” do not replicate and reproduce the very types of domination that democratic projects ought to mitigate.

Author

• Beiyi Hu, CUNY Graduate Center