Nordic Nationalism and Right-Wing Populist Politics

Nordic Nationalism and Right-Wing Populist Politics ‘In this excellent account Bergmann intertwines two main strategies that make it essential for anyone willing to understand contemporary populist political movements in the Nordic states: fi rst it grounds the analysis on a diachronic presentation of how nationalism unfolded in each of the states; second, it provides the reader with a thorough presentation of present days’ populist movements in each of the countries, thus enabling a fi nal comparative perspective. Furthermore, the clear-cut style makes the reading not only valuable but also very enjoyable.’ —Cláudia Toriz Ramos, Fernando Pessoa University, Porto, Portugal ‘Bergmann’s book provides a most valuable contribution by connecting the nationalism and populist politics in fi ve intimately related case studies of the Nordic countries. Surely a must ‘go to’ volume for overview.’ —Ulrik Pram Gad, Aalborg University, Denmark ‘Bergmann provides a timely survey and analysis of Populist Nationalism who are fi nding substantial electoral support across the Nordic countries. His fi ne-grained analysis succeeds in providing nuance and clarity to the origins and signifi cant variation in this phenomenon across time and space in the Nordics. Bergmann’s excellent comparative work on the topic will help scholars to make sense of the particularities and similarities both amongst the Nordic countries as well as relating these experiences in a meaningful manner to experiences elsewhere in Europe.’ — Dr. Claes Belfrage, University of Liverpool, UK Eirikur Bergmann Nordic Nationalism and Right-Wing Populist Politics Imperial Relationships and National Sentiments Eirikur Bergmann Bifrost University Iceland ISBN 978-1-137-56702-4 ISBN 978-1-137-56703-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-56703-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016957717 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identifi ed as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration: © 2015 Denislava Hristova-Kritsa / Getty Images Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United Kingdom This book is dedicated to my daughter, Sólrún Rós Eiríksdóttir, who I continue to enjoy thought provoking conversations with about the world and its affairs. PREF ACE The fi rst time I encountered severely troubled race relations was when living on the western outskirts of Copenhagen in Denmark in the 1990s, in the suburb of Hvidovre, when studying Political Science at Copenhagen University. On my side of motorway cutting through the neighbourhood was a traditional Danish working-class community. The population across the street, however, living in awful concrete high rises, was almost entirely immigrant, mostly from the Middle East and North Africa. The two parts never really mixed and I could almost physically feel the growing intolerance of many Danes regarding their new neighbours. Tension turned to further polarization and I started to notice a new breed of politicians, the nationalist populist. Pia Kjærsgaard of the newly established Danish People’s Party was sweeping past the political scene and was easily tapping into discontent amongst many ordinary Danes, though it was still long until she found legitimacy and full acceptance. Coming from Iceland I could well understand the powers of national sentiments in the political discourse, as nationalism has always been the main underlying element in Icelandic politics. This growing intolerance in the once-liberal Denmark was however fundamentally different. When moving to Oslo around the millennium for work at an international insti- tution, I encountered a different sort of nationhood. The vivid showcasing of the Norwegian nation at every possible occasion caught my attention. This is when I fi rst started to think about Nordic nationalism and its varia- tions in the different countries. Gradually, after years of studying Icelandic nationalism and foreign relations, my interest in understanding functions vii viii PREFACE of nationalism across the Nordics steadily grew, especially with the surge of populist parties in Scandinavia. I do believe that my academic specialization, life experience and both personal and professional links to each of the Nordics place me in a favourable position to undertake this study. Although my native tongue is Icelandic, I speak Danish and Norwegian fully and can also easily read Swedish. And although I surely don’t know much Finnish, the ties to my Finnish-Icelandic family-in-law provide the necessary access for studying Suomi as well. Through this book, I aim to bring forth twofold contribution to the fi eld of nationalist and populist studies: (1) applying binary historical analysis of pan-Nordism and separate nationalisms in order to study contemporary nationalist populism in each of the Nordics and (2) comparing the historical background and contemporary populist political movements across all the fi ve Nordic countries. Reykjavik, Iceland, 11. November 2016 Eirikur Bergmann ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book has benefi tted from the cooperation of various colleagues in several countries. Participation in the pan-European network Populist Political Communication in Europe: Comprehending the Challenge of Mediated Political Populism for Democratic Politics has, for example, been useful. The network, funded by the EU’s COST scheme, brings together scholars from around thirty European countries. Bifrost University Research Fund supported the study as well. First of all, I would like to think my partner in life, Aino Freyja Järvelä, not only for helping me understand Finland better but also for her patience through some of the more trying periods of the writing process. I thank her father, Tuomas Järvelä, for reading through the chapter on Finland and providing me with useful feedback. I would also like to thank Dr. Ulrik Pram Pad for reading through the chapter on Denmark, Dr. Lise Rye for reading through the chapter on Norway and Dr. Claes Belfrage for reading through the chapter on Sweden. All of them have provided their valuable insight. Any mistakes found in the text are, however, purely my own responsibility. I thank my publisher at Palgrave Macmillan, Imogen Gordon Clark, for all her help. This book is dedicated to my daughter, Sólrun Rós Eiríksdóttir, with whom I continue to enjoy thought-provoking conversations about the world and its affairs. ix CONTENTS 1 Introduction: Nationalizing the North 1 Imperial Relations 2 Napoleonic Wars 3 Dual Nationalism 5 New Nordic Order 6 Differing Paths of Foreign Relations 8 Nordic Identity 9 Nations and Nationalism 11 Fascism 13 New World Order 14 Cultural Racism and Three Waves of Populist Renationalization 15 First Wave 17 Second Wave 18 Social Democratic Deconstruction 21 Third Wave 21 Understanding Nationalist Populism 25 Structure of the Book 28 Note 29 References 29 2 Denmark: From Multi-Ethnic and Supra- National Empire to Little Denmark 33 The Kalmar Union 35 Empire Lost 36 xi xii CONTENTS Dawn of Democracy 38 Schleswig Slipping Away 40 ‘Folket’: The People’s Denmark 42 Social Democratic Developments 44 Early Nationalist Movements 45 Second World War and Its Effects 47 Janteloven and the Post-War Welfare State 49 From Liberal and Multicultural Denmark to National Values 50 Mogens Glistrup and the Earthquake Elections 52 Pia Kjærsgaard Emerges to the Scene 53 Surge of the Danish People’s Party 54 Position of Power 56 Stricter Immigration Policy 58 The Muhammad Cartoons Crisis 59 ‘Us’, ‘Them’ and Danish Values 60 Permanent Impact on Danish Politics 61 Conclusions 63 Notes 66 References 67 3 Finland: Nation Building While Manoeuvring Through Big Powers Confl icts 71 Suomi and Swedish Imperialism 73 Russia’s Turn 74 Kalevala and Nation Building 75 Independence and Civil War 76 Winter War and the Continuation 78 Neutrality and Finlandization 79 Militarist Mentality 80 Turning to Europe 81 Agrarian Populism 82 True Finns and the Change Elections 83 The Forgotten People 84 Ethno-Nationalism 85 Euro Crisis 87 Conclusions 88 References 91 CONTENTS xiii 4 Iceland: Ever-Lasting Independence Struggle 93 Settlement and Viking Heritage 94 Independence Struggle

Load more