"Protectors of the Folkhem" - Welfare chauvinism and the far-right in Sweden

TLDR

The 2016 study "Populist Radical Right Protectors of the Folkhem" by Adrian Norocel examines how the Sweden Democrats (SD) have co-opted the folkhem concept to promote welfare chauvinism. By promoting the restriction of public welfare to native Swedes, the SD advances rhetoric similar to that of other far-right political parties in Europe. The SD invokes nostalgia and mythology for a homogeneous past while misusing gender equality and democracy to marginalize migrants, particularly Muslims. The study highlights the dangers of using cultural narratives to undermine pluralism and liberal democratic values.


Adrian Norocel's 2016 study, "Populist Radical Right Protectors of the Folkhem," analyzes how the Sweden Democrats (SD) strategically redefine the folkhem (the Swedish "people's home"), as a cornerstone of Sweden's welfare tradition in order to exclude and discriminate migrants and minorities. This tactic promotes welfare chauvinism, limiting welfare benefits to "deserving" Swedes while framing migrants as both economic and cultural threats.


Norocel’s study also reminds of civilisationism, a concept defined by Rogers Brubaker. Civilisationism casts cultural diversity as a fundamental threat to "Western civilization." The SD, employing this rhetoric, portrays migrants—particularly Muslims—as incompatible with “Swedish values”. These narratives not only vilify migrants but also deepen societal divisions by presenting them as existential adversaries. It should be noted that the values of SD are the opposite of the majority values in Sweden and also the opposite of democratic values.


The study points out that SD's communication relies heavily on nostalgia, idealizing the folk hem as a golden age of national unity and social cohesion disrupted by migration and multiculturalism. However, Norocel critiques this framing as historically inaccurate, noting that even in the folk hem's prime, different institutional problems, integration challenges, and social prejudices existed, such as the marginalization of Finnish labor migrants in the 1970s.


The SD also instrumentalizes gender equality and democracy, using it as a tool to critique what they see as Islamic cultures while promoting “traditional” and conservative views on family life and gender roles and while ignoring systemic gender inequalities within Sweden itself. Policies like banning veils in public spaces and restricting multicultural initiatives further reinforce their rejection of diversity and stigmatize Muslim girls and women.


Norocel's study concludes that the SD's appropriation of nationalism and civilisationist rhetoric undermines Sweden's pluralistic and egalitarian welfare model. By fostering exclusionary narratives, the SD risks eroding the democratic and inclusive principles central to Swedish society.

Concluding Reflections

Adrian Norocel's study underscores how the Sweden Democrats' welfare chauvinism and civilisationst rhetoric threaten Sweden's democratic foundations. By reframing the folkhem to exclude migrants and fostering "us versus them" narratives, the SD undermines the inclusivity that defines Sweden's welfare model and also creates more disunity and divisions in society. The study also shows how the SD's nostalgia and mythology for the past are misleading and based on wrong assumptions.

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