Swedish election: The astonishing rise of the right-wing Sweden Democrats

The party made its debut in the Riksdag in 2010 when it gained almost 6% of the vote. But it struggled to gain traction and was considered a pariah in coalition-building. That changed after the migration crisis of 2015.

Sweden Democrats go mainstream

Due largely to the civil war in Syria, Europe was faced with a wave of largely Muslim refugees in 2015. Over the course of one year, 1.3 million people fled to Europe; Sweden took in some 163,000 asylum-seekers (Germany's Angela Merkel took in around one million).

The Rise of Sweden Democrats: Islam, Populism and the End of Swedish Exceptionalism

Witnessed for over a decade now, the developments in Europe after 9/11 ...

Islamophobia >> Xenophobia >> Russophobia

'Sapere aude'

A new Swedish Identity? Bildt, Europe and neutrality in the post-Cold War era

At the turn of the 1990s, domestic and external changes would make a decisive impact on Swedish identity and neutrality. Carl Bildt's non-socialist coalition broke the hegemonic position of the Social Democratic Party, instigating a new approach to the Swedish Model, Europe, and neutrality. Bildt wanted to steer Sweden away from the past towards a European identity where neutrality had no place. An equally powerful challenge came from the external realm, where the collapse of bipolarity appeared to make neutrality obsolete. The meaning of security expanded beyond traditional definitions that focused on the state.

What Bildt was for Sweden, was Silorski for Poland?

'Sapere aude'

The Nordic Efforts Against Poverty and Injustice at a Crossroads | 2015 |

The Nordic countries are at a crossroads. A crossroads that is testing our global role, our leaders and our identity. Our choices will affect the lives of millions of people all over the world.

The Nordic countries have a unique role in the world in their efforts in peace, sustainable development and poverty alleviation. They are characterized by high levels of development aid in which poverty alleviation is the overall objective. In addition, Nordic politicians have invested time and resources in political processes where they don't necessarily have direct self interests: peace negotiations, UN Sustainable Development Goals and gender equality.

We call it The Nordic Exceptionalism. It's not exceptionalism as in smugness, it's exceptionalism as in idealism and will to make a change that can benefit the world's poor, and hence ourselves. The efforts against poverty and injustice are the Nordic countries' long term interests. It gives the Nordic governments credibility and authority in the international arena, and contributes to reduce poverty for millions of people.

The extreme global inequality, climate crisis and refugee crisis puts us to the test. The Norwegian and Swedish governments have proposed to let the world's poorest pay for the all-time-high refugee costs. The world's poor are already paying for efforts taken against climate change by the Nordic countries.

In Denmark and Finland, the governments have proposed dramatic cuts in the development aid budgets. What is left to finance the newly adopted UN Sustainable Development Goals? What is left to finance long term development efforts on Human Rights and sustainable development?

Smugness as Leftover of Nordic Exceptionalism?

'Sapere aude'