Scandia debate: The Sweden Democrats’ White Paper is far from Being a Reckoning with the Party’s Past

Abstract

The Sweden Democrats’ white paper, announced by party leader Jimmie Åkesson in 2017, has generated significant discussion by revisiting key aspects of the party’s history. Although these issues have been addressed in previous research, their reiteration remains relevant. Authored by historian of ideas Tony Gustafsson, the white paper employs comprehensive source analysis to demonstrate the Sweden Democrats’ documented connections to National Socialism, the persistence of anti-Semitic attitudes, and the prevalence of xenophobic rhetoric.

However, the scope and temporal limitations imposed by the party leadership have resulted in the exclusion of several critical topics. Gustafsson was instructed by party leadership to address only specific areas of criticism. Additionally, the report concludes in 2010, rendering the party’s more recent developments largely unexamined. Notably, the white paper provides minimal attention to the party’s criticism of Islam, which has frequently bordered on Islamophobia and has been a recurring theme since the early 2000s. The analysis also omits discussion of the Sweden Democrats as a populist party. Right-wing populist parties often employ a strategy that emphasizes national values while portraying immigrants as threats introduced by so-called national traitors.

The increasing dissemination of conspiracy theories within party rhetoric, particularly as the welfare state narrative has diminished in influence, is similarly overlooked. As historical narratives such as the retrotopic welfare state have been supplanted by historical distortions, including claims that the Swedish Social Democrats inspired Nazi Germany to the Holocaust, and by conspiracy theories, there is a heightened need for critical examination of the Sweden Democrats’ ideological positions regarding nationalism, populism, and fascism.