Table Of Contenteirikur
bergmann
Nordic
Nationalism
and Right-
Wing
Populist
Politics
Imperial
Relationships
and National
Sentiments
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 read-
ing 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) 2 017
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 pub-
lisher 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.
P
REFACE
The fi rst time I encountered severely troubled race relations was when liv-
ing 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 intoler-
ance 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 con-
temporary 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
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
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
C
ONTENTS
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 1 1
Fascism 1 3
New World Order 14
Cultural Racism and Three Waves of Populist Renationalization 1 5
First Wave 17
Second Wave 18
Social Democratic Deconstruction 2 1
Third Wave 2 1
Understanding Nationalist Populism 25
Structure of the Book 28
Note 29
References 29
2 Denmark: From Multi-Ethnic and Supra-N ational
Empire to Little Denmark 3 3
The Kalmar Union 35
Empire Lost 36
xi
