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Sweden is a country with a long history which is now regarded as one of the world’s “most advanced nations in terms of politics, social welfare, gender equality, standard of living, technology, the arts, and participation in regional and global developments” (Nordstrom 1).
This country was also characterized by homogenous population throughout centuries, but increasing immigration which took place in the twentieth century has changed the demographic situation in the country. Nevertheless, Swedish culture and Swedish values are still being promulgated in the country. However, according to Witoszek and Trägårdh cultural hegemony in Sweden has led to many issues concerning minorities living in the country (196).
In the contemporary globalized world many argue that homogeneity can be the clue to cultural sustainability, but sometimes hegemony of culture can lead to various unexpected outcomes.
In this paper I argue that cultural hegemony in Sweden led to such negative outcomes as development of extreme forms of nationalism which threatened democracy in the country and led to numerous acts of violence. Therefore, in the first place, I will touch upon peculiarities of cultural hegemony in Sweden and its origins and then I will consider examples of negative outcomes of cultural hegemony in Sweden.
As has been mentioned above Sweden was homogenous for a long time. Swedish homogeneity is the major background for the hegemony of Swedish culture. Admittedly, there were the necessary premises to develop such notion as “Swedishness” (Gröndahl 22). Sweden culture is based on such “typical Swedish values like equality, self-criticism, worship of nature” (Gustavsson 503).
It is necessary to add that Swedish homogeneity was also possible due to the impact of religion, since the majority of adult population of the country pertain to Lutheran Church and, thus, share the same values (Berggren 573). More so, Sweden is one of those few countries which were not threatened by external attacks (Hjerm).
When considering Swedish cultural homogeneity it is important to mention that the country enjoyed political, social and economical stability throughout centuries since after the rapid development in the times of the industrial revolution the country did not have periods of serious economical crisis.
However, this favorable tendency was interrupted in the 1990s when Sweden faced serious economic recession (Hjerm). It goes without saying that economic constraints influence cultural development of the country. Admittedly, in combination with immigration these economical issues can result in the development of extreme nationalism which is one of possible negative outcomes of cultural hegemony.
As far as immigration in Sweden is concerned it is necessary to point out that after World War II “an influx of refugees and labor immigrants took place” (Gröndahl 22). There were two other major influxes which took place in 1960s and 1980s. Immigrants who came to Sweden were of Finnish and Kurdish origins (Gröndahl 22).
It is necessary to point out that Swedish always had negative attitude toward immigrants which can be explained by their long-lasting homogeneity. In simple words, these people were not accustomed to multinational environment, so they still divided their society in Swedish and others.
A number of surveys prove that statement. Thus, the survey held in 1969 revealed the prevalent negative attitude towards immigrants among “people with little formal education and among the working class”, and among elderly people (Westin 189). Only young people and people who travelled a lot did not reveal negative attitude towards immigrants.
The following survey held in 1981 revealed the same results, but the rate of people who positively viewed immigrants was higher, though the negative attitude prevailed. These findings were explained by the fact that young people “replaced” elderly people (Westin 189).
However, the following surveys held in 1987, 1990, and 1993 revealed that the public opinion changed and the number of people who did not oppose immigration decreased dramatically, instead “xenophobic and racist attitudes” emerged (Westin 189). It is important to note that this was the period of economic recession which, as has been stated above, plays quite considerable role in shaping cultural development.
In such periods people start paying more attention to their cultural heritage promulgating ideas of cherishing the past. Admittedly, cultural “revival and mobilization occur when the existence of a community or region is threatened” (Ekman 281). It can be expected that in Sweden this process should be held in terms of their major values concerning democracy, religion and equality.
However, it is necessary to add that often cultural hegemony can result in the development of such negative subcultures as extreme nationalism. In Sweden where the major values are equality and democracy many young (and elderly) people speak of their ethnic supremacy over immigrants, people who have other origins, i.e. “others”. This can be explained by the fact that
…subordinated groups offer resistance to the hegemony of elite culture; they create subaltern popular cultures and contest for a voice in the dominant public sphere. (qtd. in Martin and Nakayama 312)
In times when no economical or political constraint occur, the subordinated groups may reveal their protests via music, looks (punk, Goths, etc.). However, when difficult economical conditions influence people’s well-being the protest can acquire extreme forms. Thus, within Swedish culture which promulgates equality, there appear subcultures which promulgate equality among chosen, people of Swedish origin.
Therefore, long-lasting cultural hegemony when threatened by appearance of other cultures resulted in numerous cases of violence. Reportedly, the cases of racial violence have increased dramatically during recent years (than 3,000 cases in 2001) (Larsson 4). However, this subculture though has been developing rapidly did not transform into hegemony, and remained within the limits of sub-cultural status.
It is possible to get a closer look at the peculiarities of such subcultures considering the activities of white power movement in Sweden. White power movement is neo-fascist movement which promulgates the supremacy of white race, as opposed to other races and ethnicities (Eyerman 456).
White power movement is quite powerful in Sweden. However, to estimate the rate of neo-fascist and extreme nationalistic views it is possible to consider popularity of white power music in the country. Admittedly, those who listen to this music and attend concerts are not necessarily people ready for violent actions, but they are supporters of the sub-culture which promulgates ideas of Swedish supremacy.
White power music includes such musical styles as “country music, folk music, Viking music, black metal or hard-core rock, with some overlap with punk” (Eyerman451). Notably, this subculture has a lot in common with elite culture since it is also based on cultural heritage, i.e. folk songs and music. According to Swedish Council for Crime Prevention Sweden is one of the leaders of white power music production worldwide (Eyerman 451). More than 5,000 participants were registered in the recent concert of the white power music.
Interestingly, there are 1,500-2,000 core activists within this movement, and the number of sympathizers can hardly be estimated (Eyerman 451). It is important to note that the majority of core activists are males between 25 and 35 years old. They have households and children.
The number of female members gradually increases. Thus, the movement’s core activists are not teenagers who only want to reveal their protest to the power. These are people who have some experience and can critically evaluate situation in the country and shape their outlines.
The movement was developed several decades ago and became a significant subculture. The development of technology contributed greatly to the spread of the white power music and ideas. Thus, people could visit an official website and find out about the movement more information, and consequently join the subculture.
However, increased number of violent actions implemented by neo-fascist organizations made Swedish government and media respond (Eyerman 456). Public opinion was against any violence, even though many shared the same negative attitude towards ethnic minorities. Thus, neo-fascist organizations were declared illegal, so this subculture became marginal and more covert.
Interestingly, Eyerman provides an explanation for the fact that this subculture was suppressed by those in power. He states that a commonly recognized aspect of Swedish political culture is the role of organized political parties, in absorbing and institutionalizing political protest. The role and relationship of the parties in other words, are central to any emergent collective action. (Eyerman 457)
In terms of Intercultural Communication Theory it is possible to restate the same statement in the following way: cultural hegemony in Sweden did not let neo-fascist subculture develop since the latter used too extreme ways of communicating ideas.
Thus, when considering cultural hegemony in Sweden it is possible to observe the peculiarity of cultural hegemony (on the whole) which is often characterized by, so to speak, dualistic nature.
On one hand, it leads to creation of various subcultures since people pertaining to the culture can oppose some of its values (in case with Swedish neo-fascist organizations did not support the value of equality). On the other hand, cultural hegemony prevents subcultures from further development because the majority of people (those pertaining to elite culture) long to preserve their values.
In conclusion, it is possible to state that cultural hegemony in Sweden had some negative outcomes. Numerous acts of violence committed by activists of neo-fascist organizations which formed a certain subculture threatened the order established in the country.
However, it is important to point out that the development of extreme nationalistic sub-cultures took place in the period of economical and political constraints. Admittedly, in the times of flourishing cultural hegemony led to unity of the entire nation. As a result, Swedish culture has preserved its historical heritage due to the cultural hegemony.
Therefore, cultural hegemony is favorable for the development of any society. However, it is important to be careful and interrupt the development of dangerous subcultures when it is still possible to diminish their influence. Admittedly, Swedish people only start making their first steps in international communication. The process is lengthy and quite complicated. Nevertheless, Swedish culture which promulgates eternal values will make it possible to complete the process successfully.
Works Cited
Berggren, Niclas. “Rhetoric or Reality? An Economic Analysis of the Effect of Religion in Sweden.” Journal of Socio-Economics 26.6 (2002): 571-596.
Ekman, Ann-Kristin. “The Revival of Cultural Celebrations in Regional Sweden. Aspeccts of Tradition and Transition.” Sociologia Ruralis 39.3 (1999): 280-293.
Eyerman, Ron. “Music in Movement: Cultural Politics and Old and New Social Movements.” Qualitative Sociology 25.3 (2002): 443-458.
Gröndahl, Satu. “Identity Politics and Construction of ‘Minor’ Literatures: Multicultural Swedish Literature at the Turn of the Millennium.” Multiethnica 30 (2007): 21-29.
Gustavsson, Bengt. “Human Values in Swedish Management.” Management Communication Quarterly 24.4 (2010): 503-528.
Hjerm, Mikael. “Reconstructing “Positive” Nationalism: Evidence from Norway and Sweden.” Sociological Research Online 3.2 (1998): n. pag. Web.
Larsson, Stieg. “A Study on Racially Motivated Crime and Violence in Sweden.” National Focal Point of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia September (2002): 1-46. Expo.se. Web.
Martin, Judith N., and Thomas K. Nakayama. Intercultural Communication in Contexts, 5/e. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 2010.
Nordstrom, Byron J. The History of Sweden. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002.
Westin, Charles. “Neo-Nazism in a Welfare State: The Example of Sweden.” Journal of Conflict and Violence Research 2.2 (2000): 184-206.
Witoszek, Nina and Lars Trägårdh. Culture and Crisis: The Case of Germany and Sweden. New York, NY: Berghahn Books, 2002.
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