This thesis examines the unique set of circumstances which led to the rapid rise of a supposed right-wing populist party in Sweden. The Sverigedemokraterna (Sweden Democrats) are not the first nationalist party to enter the Swedish parliament, but are the first to survive multiple parliamentary elections and are currently the third largest party in parliament. This thesis argues the Sverigedemokraterna do not constitute a political party, but remain a populist movement within Swedish politics, are not right-wing but rather a lagom-inspired hybrid, and the stabilizing effects of the culture of lagom prevents the permanence of extremism in Swedish politics. The increase in immigrants from predominantly Muslim states due to the Arab Spring and the Syrian civil war stoke the anti-Islamic rhetoric of this nationalist group, but did not cause their rapid ascent and neither did the entry of Sweden into the European Economic Community. The Sverigedemokraterna are a single-point culmination of a century of nationalist and fascist groups splitting and merging within Sweden, but as other groups continue to appear the SD cannot be the only culmination. / Master of Arts / This thesis looks at how an extreme right-wing political party seemingly appeared from nowhere and became the third largest party in just two election cycles. The party, called the Sweden Democrats, is called nationalist by opposing parties and the press, but does not act like a typical far-right party. It is my belief that a cultural phenomenon in Sweden called <i>lagom</i> is partially responsible for this. While the Sweden Democrats are anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic, on all other issues they vote along with the more liberal elements, the Social Democrats. This paper looks at the history of nationalism in Sweden, examines the various fascist groups which existed and exist today, details the history of immigration to Sweden, and shows the government responses to immigration. The conclusion of this thesis is that the Sweden Democrats are not a far-right party, they are not a typical political party and act like a political movement instead, but they have the potential to survive in parliament because they compromise with the majority on all other issues.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/77592 |
| Date | 05 May 2017 |
| Creators | Ferguson, Vernon Neil |
| Contributors | Political Science, Taylor, Charles L., Thomas, Courtney Irene Powell, Briggs, Ryan C. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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