Missing Links: Politics and the Misrecognition of the Sweden Democrats

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article critiques prevailing approaches to the study of the Sweden Democrats political party. It argues that political agendas motivate academic and journalistic commentators to adopt a limited definition of the party in their analyses. More specifically, the article examines a recurring question in studies of the party, namely, to what extent it can be linked to openly race ideological and other right-wing extremist forces in Swedish society. It shows that while ideological connections between the party and other radical nationalists are weak, sociocultural connections are strong. Concluding that these connections are overlooked by scholars because they are less politically incriminating, the article calls for a paradigm shift in the study of the Sweden Democrats, one that addresses the party as the dynamic movement it is.