Mats Wickström View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE The Multicultural provided by National Library of Finland DSpace Services Moment The History of the Idea and Politics of Multiculturalism in Sweden in Comparative, Transnational and Biographical Context, Mats Wickström 1964–1975 Mats Wickström | The Multicultural Moment | 2015 | Wickström Mats The studies in this compilation thesis examine the origins The Multicultural Moment and early post-war history of the idea of multiculturalism as well as the interplay between idea and politics in The History of the Idea and Politics of Multiculturalism in Sweden in the shift from a public ideal of homogeneity to an ideal Comparative, Transnational and Biographical Context, 1964–1975 of multiculturalism in Sweden. The thesis shows that ethnic activists, experts and offi cials were instrumental in the establishment of multiculturalism in Sweden, as they also were in two other early adopters of multiculturalism, Canada and Australia. The breakthrough of multiculturalism, such as it was within the limits of the social democratic welfare-state, was facilitated by who the advocates were, for whom they made their claims, the way the idea of multiculturalism was conceptualised and legitimised as well as the migratory context. 9 789521 231339 ISBN 978-952-12-3133-9 Mats Wikstrom B5 Kansi s16 Inver260 9 December 2014 2:21 PM THE MULTICULTURAL MOMENT © Mats Wickström 2015 Cover picture by Mats Wickström & Frey Wickström Author’s address: History Dept. of Åbo Akademi University Fabriksgatan 2 FIN-20500 Åbo, Finland e-mail: [email protected] Layout by Icca Krook iccakrook.com ISBN 978-952-12-3133-9 Printed by Juvenes Print Turku The Multicultural Moment The History of the Idea and Politics of Multiculturalism in Sweden in Comparative, Transnational and Biographical Context, 1964–1975 Mats Wickström Doctoral Thesis in General History Åbo Akademi University Åbo, Finland, 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As a child I discovered the past as a land of heroics and tragedy that I could venture into trough books and ruins and adventure in. I retained some of my more fantastical notions on the past trough adolescence until they were cruelly, but convincingly, put to rest during my first years as a history major at Åbo Akademi University. The sense of adventure did not, however, vanish; it rather changed its shape and direction. The scientific study of the past might even be a more dangerous, and therefore exciting, quest than juvenile reenactments of glorious triumphs and ruinous defats. My work on this doctoral thesis, this quest, has now come to an end, and I could never have journeyed this far without the aid of numerous persons, institutions and funding agencies. I’m especially grateful for the encouragement and support of my principal, and only, supervisor Professor Holger Weiss. I was lucky to be blessed with a supervisor that believed in my capabilities, enabled my research freedom, and that I could call on for help on a whim when I encountered an academical or administrational conundrum. With a supervisor like that you only need one! The rest of the current and former staff at the History Department of Åbo Akademi University also deserve credit for their insightful comments and their nudges, or sometimes pushes, to get me out of the door of our department, and for making the department a wonderful place to work. Many thanks to Nils Erik Villstrand, Ann-Catrin Östman, Laura Hollsten, Johanna Wassholm, Pirjo Markkola, Marko Lamberg, Maren Jonasson and Joakim Mickwitz. The most important bump was the one that tipped me into NordWel (Nordic Centre of Excellence: The Nordic Welfare State – Historical Foundations and Future Challenges) and into contact with the young migration I scholars there. I must confess that I, believing myself to be lone-wolf historian without the need for a pack, at first was somewhat apprehensive in making new acquaintances across disciplinary lines and national borders. My concerns were, however, quickly replaced by the talent, knowledge, and enthusiasm of my new colleges Heidi Vad Jønsson, Elizabeth Onasch, Saara Pellander, Marjukka Weide and all the other PhD students in WelMi, the welfare and migration research network we founded togheter under the umbrella of NordWel. Thank you Heidi, Liz, Saara and Marjukka for taking in a lone academic stray and making me become aware of the interdisciplinary possibilities of my work. Without a sound material and institutional base this dissertation project would probably still be a muddled idea in the mind of a placid librarian. I therefore want to offer my grateful thanks to Åbo Akademi University for providing the necessary facilities and resources for my doctoral studies, and the following funding agencies for putting food on the table for my growing family and for making my research possible: The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland; The Research Institute of Åbo Akademi Foundation; Oscar Öflunds Foundation; Waldemar von Frenckells Foundation; The Otto A. Malm Foundation. I have further received essential funding for archival research in Sweden and conferences in Denmark from Åbo Akademis Jubileumsfond 1968 and Gustaf Packaléns Mindefond. I would also like to thank the helpful archivists and librarians at the Labour Movement Archives and Library in Stockholm, the Swedish National Archives in Stockholm, and Åbo Akademi University Library. It was a privilege to have Professor Auvo Kostiainen at the University of Turku and Senior Lecturer Lena Berggen at Umeå University as the preliminary examiners of my thesis. My thesis benefited greatly from their critique and I will carry their insightful comments with me into possible future research projects. Likewise, I want to address grateful II thanks to all the eminent scholars that have commented on or reviewed my papers and articles. Many thanks also to the editors of my articles: Peter Kivisto, Östen Wahlbeck, Mia Halonen, Pasi Ihalainen, Taina Saarinen and Jenny Björkman. The History Department of Åbo Akademi University has sheltered a tight-knit community of PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, a collective of bright and ever- helpful scholars and friends that have kept good company and provided me with a release valve for my sometimes nebulous thoughts and general feelings of frustration. Because my room, D114, is the unofficial coffee-room of the department I have never felt the despair that some say is an integral part of a dissertation project. Thanks for the shorter and longer visits, all the free flowing discussions, and for laughing at my bad jokes Stefan Norrgård, Matias Kaihovirta, Anna Sundelin, Hanna Lindberg, Kasper Braskén, Anders Ahlbäck, Sara Hankalahti, Miriam Rönnqvist, Janne Väistö, Victor Wilson, Rolf Enander, Sarah Hankalahti, Robert Lindberg and Patrik Hettula. My special thanks go to my intellectual consigliere Jonas Ahlskog, philosopher and historian extraordinaire, whose comments and guidance were of invaluable assistance from the beginning to the end of the dissertation project. The motley crew and honorary members of the so called Karis Mafia, my good friends, also deserve thanks for supporting me in their unique kind of way. The long-expected party is finally here. My journey would have been much drearier without your companionship and uplifting wit, and with you around I was always reminded of that quintessential question of intellectual inquiry: is it so? My final and heartfelt thanks go to my family, the Wickströms in Karis and Åbo. Your unconditional support has always made it possible for me to explore my interests fully and without fear. Thanks to you I have been able to preserve my sense of wonder and inquisitiveness and felt III free to pursue a career as an historian. During my work with this thesis my understanding and loving wife Jenni has kept me grounded to the joyous realities of daily life. She recently received sweet support in this endeavour when our daughter Miili Margareta was born. This adventure thus ends as other paths come into view. Åbo, November 2014 Mats Wickström IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements.........................................................I Part I...............................................................................1 1 Introduction.................................................................3 1.1 Research questions and scope of the thesis........20 2 A new diversity: post-war Europe and labour migration......................................................................24 2.1 Post-war immigration and the Swedish welfare state......................................................31 2.2 Finland as Sweden’s special case and vice versa....................................................................44 3 Earlier research on the history of multiculturalism in Sweden..........................................................................54 3.1 Explaining Sweden’s political turn to multiculturalism in earlier research................64 4 Theory and method....................................................73 4.1 Comparative and transnational perspectives.......................................................80 4.2 Actors..........................................................89 5 Source work...............................................................95 5.1 Interviews..................................................102 6 Summaries of the four studies...............................107 V 7 Conclusions............................................................120