Striking a Balance between Diversity and Social Cohesion: Examples from Sweden

Abstract

I will address the issue of the policies Sweden has adopted to integrate its migrant population, and on the other hand its stand in relation to the indigenous Saami population. While Sweden has developed liberal policies of multiculturalism to incorporate its migrants (social, educational and economic equality, support for cultural maintenance etc., voting rights in local and county elections for permanently residing non-Swedish nationals, liberal naturalisation conditions), it has traditionally been unwilling to recognise or accept Saami claims to special treatment in questions where land rights are concerned. A multicultural policy that does not consider the position of traditional ethnic and ethno-territorial minorities will not appear to have credibility. These two different policy approaches cannot be understood without a closer look at the formation of the Swedish nation state. Issues that I want to address are about bringing together two different discourses. What happens when multiculturalism is imported into the older structure of the nation state? A lot has been written about multiculturalism and probably even more on the nation state. However, much of the work on multiculturalism is inspired by experiences in countries based on immigration (Australia, Canada, the United States). These experiences do not necessarily apply in the older European nation state context. On the other hand, most work on nation state formation departs from European experiences, but rarely addresses the issues of incorporating people of immigrant origin. Multiculturalism, or diversity, is not immediately compatible with traditional conceptions of the nation state. Values that relate to national identity, common history and common destiny, majority language and national/ethnic stereotypes are used, or may be used to create a sense of national/ethnic unity by excluding the ‚Other’. How is social cohesion achieved in a society moving towards diversity? How should the national story be rethought to include migrants as well as indigenous minorities? Can Human Rights serve as a value base in an ethnically diverse Swedish society? I will finally address some questions relating to citizenship and identity. Show more