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4 - Nordic States

Sweden, Norway, and Denmark

from Part II - Exemplary National Experiences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 November 2019

Tom Farer
Affiliation:
University of Denver
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Summary

The Nordic societies share liberal social values, generous welfare states, sunny hedonism as a kind of secular faith, efficient public institutions, greater equality among classes than in most other Western democracies, high ratings in global surveys of popular happiness, and, until recently at least, a kind of cosmopolitan idealism baked into their respective national identities. Also until about the 1990s, they were more or less culturally homogenous. But in public and electoral attitudes toward Global South, largely Muslim migrant families, they diverge. In Denmark the governing coalition includes a far-right party, and particularly since the notorious affair of Danish cartoons satirizing Muhammad, the government has strongly discouraged asylum-seekers from approaching its doors and does not exert itself to make the settled Muslim population feel at home. In proportion to its population, Sweden took in far more refugees even than Germany during the great surge of 2015, but, despite a well-funded effort, has encountered serious integration problems recorded by liberal and conservative observers. Discourse and policy have become less welcoming. In Norway, smaller and more economically buoyant, the political backlash to Muslim migration is more muted, but integration remains a work in progress.

Type
Chapter
Information
Migration and Integration
The Case for Liberalism with Borders
, pp. 81 - 95
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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  • Nordic States
  • Tom Farer, University of Denver
  • Book: Migration and Integration
  • Online publication: 15 November 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108757997.008
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  • Nordic States
  • Tom Farer, University of Denver
  • Book: Migration and Integration
  • Online publication: 15 November 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108757997.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Nordic States
  • Tom Farer, University of Denver
  • Book: Migration and Integration
  • Online publication: 15 November 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108757997.008
Available formats
×