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Diana Mulinari

Diana Mulinari

Senior professor

Diana Mulinari

We are Sweden Democrats because we care for others: Exploring racisms in the Swedish extreme right

Author

  • Diana Mulinari
  • Anders Neergaard

Summary, in English

During the last decades there has been an upsurge in research on xenophobic populist parties, mirroring their political successes. In the Swedish context, characterised by neoliberal restructuring, issues of race', citizenship and belonging have been important elements of the public debate. These issues have unfolded in parallel with the presence of a neo-Nazi social movement and the emergence of two new parliamentary parties in which cultural racism has been central. Research has especially focused on the xenophobic content and how to relate these parties to the wider research on party politics in western liberal democracies. While there have been some studies focusing on gendered differences in voting and activism highlighting the peripheral role of women, there are still very few studies analysing the worldview of women active in these parties, and the role of gender as metaphor, identity and policy within these parties. Inspired by feminist, postcolonial and Marxist research, the authors of this article are interested in analysing the worldview of women activists. The material is composed of 20 in-depth interviews with female Sweden Democrat politicians complemented by party texts and participant observation. The aim of the article is to explore how women within a Swedish version of these parties, the Sweden Democrats, name and reflect upon their experiences, especially focusing on how a care rhetoric is used in their narratives. These women have chosen to represent a racist party (although they do not see themselves or the party as racist). What inspires them? What visions of gender evolve from their worldview?

Department/s

  • Department of Gender Studies

Publishing year

2014

Language

English

Pages

43-56

Publication/Series

European Journal of Women's Studies

Volume

21

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Topic

  • Gender Studies

Keywords

  • Care
  • gender
  • gender equality
  • racism
  • Sweden Democrats
  • women activists

Status

Published

Project

  • A contradiction in terms? Women and migrants in the Swedish Democrats

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1461-7420