Decolonial Sweden

Decolonial Sweden exposes the social and political relevance of European colonialism to Sweden and its place in the world. It is a book that points to why and how Sweden is to be included in global decolonial struggles. Sweden is often displayed as an ethnoracially homogenous country without any colonial history: an open and tolerant human rights champion, anti-racist, anti-colonial, and in solidarity with the Global South. For over twenty years, authors Michael McEachrane and Louis Faye have been challenging this account, pointing to Sweden’s involvement in colonial histories and legacies, its racialized nationhood, and embedded colonial structures. This important new book reflects a decolonial turn in research, emphasizing that coloniality is far from over, and that challenging global injustices remains an unfinished and open-ended process. Chapters in the book consider the resistance of the Sámi people to Swedish colonialism, whether Sweden owes the Caribbean reparations for its colonization of Saint Barthélemy and involvement in the transatlantic trade, Sweden’s involvement in a colonial global economy, and how white European identification is embedded in Swedish politics, nation-building, and society. Engaging and insightful, Decolonial Sweden invites readers to reconsider Swedish attitudes toward race, colonialism, and international relations. This book is an essential read for Post- and Decolonial scholars and students of Critical Race Studies, Critical Indigenous Studies, Africana Studies, International Relations, Global Development, and Political Science, as well as for anyone interested in Sweden’s place in the world. Cover Endorsement Page Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of contributors Acknowledgments Introduction Notes I: Swedish colonialism Chapter 1: Decolonizing nature in the North: The (post-)apocalyptic environmentalism of the Swedish Sámi 1950–2020 (Post)apocalyptic environmentalism in a decolonial context Sweden as a settler colonial state Settler colonialism The colonization of Lapland Sámi anti-colonialism The emergence of Sámi environmentalism: from objects of nature conservation to self-organization Fragile coalitions in the resistance against hydroelectric development Anti-colonial environmentalism The postapocalyptic and the pragmatic “Sweden’s Indians” “A perfect colonial system” Neo-extractivism in the Swedish North In conclusion—glocal decolonial struggles for environmental justice Notes References Chapter 2: A decolonial understanding of Sámi landscapes and human-nature relations in Sweden Sámi landscapes in Sweden Land use and land rights background A decolonial methodology Ethical challenges of co-production The case study Mapping land-uses in Sámi landscape Sámi landscapes from a biocultural perspective Relational values of biocultural elements Cascading effect: impacts on Sámi biocultural diversity Conclusions Acknowledgements Notes Chapter 3: What, if anything, does Sweden owe the Caribbean? CARICOM’s demands for reparations Swedish colonialism “The past is never dead, it is not even past”12: on colonialism and its legacies Reparatory justice as rectificatory justice Is rectification for colonial injustices justified? In conclusion—then how should Sweden respond? Notes References Chapter 4: Decolonial blackness and indigeneity in Sweden: An email conversation Swedish colonialism and the Sámi Michael Mc Eachrane May-Britt Öhman Victor Wilson Gunlög Fur Afro-Swedes and the abolition of enslavement Michael McEachrane Kitimbwa Sabuni Michael McEachrane Olivette Otele Michael McEachrane Olivette Otele Michael McEachrane Olivette Otele Decolonial Black and Sámi consciousness Michael McEachrane Kitimbwa Sabuni May-Britt Öhman Michael McEachrane May-Britt Öhman Gunlög Fur Decolonial justice? Michael Mc Eachrane Göran Collste Gunlög Fur May-Britt Öhman Gunlög Fur Note II: The welfare state Chapter 5: Racial social democracy and the Swedish welfare state: Part I A white nation The somatic dimension The juridico-political realm The cognitive-evaluative dimension The cultural sphere The economic dimension Pre-WWII racial social democracy Notes Chapter 6: Racial social democracy and the Swedish welfare state: Part II Post-WWII racial social democracy Race as race-biological beliefs Sweden as without racial issues Colonialism as colonisation A racial welfare state Racial discrimination and “race” in Sweden? Systemic racism in Sweden? Racial international affairs Sweden in the (post-)colonial global economy The politics of development of the Swedish Social Democrats In conclusion—Towards a decolonial social democracy? Sweden as a white nation-state vs a future racial “equality zone” Recognizing race and eliminating systemic and structural racism Decolonial justice Notes Chapter 7: The power of silence: Variations in the reproduction of racial capitalism among white male-dominated trade unions in Sweden Racial capitalism as a lens Swedish industrial relations and the racialized other The silence on race in union struggles Responsible and flexible: The position of the Managers’ Union Competitive and skilled: The outlook of the Engineers of Sweden Security and protection: The position of the Swedish Construction Workers’ Union Conclusion Notes Bibliography Chapter 8: Decolonizing Swedish health care: Challenges and ways forward The literature on decolonizing health care in the Global North The silencing of racism and colonialism in health care The broader denial of racism and colonialism in Sweden The current debates on racism and decolonizing health care in Sweden The way forward: How to conceptualize decolonization in Swedish health care Notes Chapter 9: Coloniality, whiteness and systemic racism in Sweden: An email conversation Ten decolonial propositions on Sweden Michael McEachrane Race, intersectionality and resistance Maribel Morey Paula Mulinari Michael McEachrane Maribel Morey Paula Mulinari Minoo Alinia Race, racialisation and class Anders Neergaard Michael McEachrane Anders Neergaard The coloniality of segregation Michael McEachrane Jasmine Kelekay A racialised state Michael McEachrane Maribel Morey Sarah Hamed Domino Kai III: Global entanglements Chapter 10: Swedish capital and the coloniality of the global economy: Industrial relations at LAMCO in the 1960s Coloniality and industrial relations Gränges and LAMCO Liberian labour International labor The Liberian state Conclusions Notes Chapter 11: Progress as neocolonialism: Why decoloniality must imply a farewell to development Towards a decolonial understanding of economic Euro-modernity Decolonial economics Are fossil energy and climate change inextricably connected to Euro-modernity? Notes References Chapter 12: Decoloniality and structural racism in Swedish development assistance An aid-superpower in decline: a very brief history of Swedish development assistance Whiteness as particularly enjoyable in the development-aid sector? White Swedish saviors The unequal distribution of economic privileges in development work The workings of racism in everyday development work Coloniality and decoloniality in development aid: concluding reflections Notes References Chapter 13: Toward a green transition: A post- and decolonial analysis of the green state of Sweden Imperial formations of “natural” environments Sweden’s self-worlding on the international stage: leading the green transition Nation-building through a “green” industry: showing the way for unsatisfactory “others” The ever-present (yet absent) “other” in environmental governance Self-worlding in Storuman: Taking responsibility for the world Dissenting voices Discussion: A post/decolonial analysis of Sweden’s green transition Notes References Chapter 14: (De)colonial Sweden in the World: An email conversation Coloniality and the global economy Michael McEachrane Alf Hornborg Mining and sustainable development Seema Arora-Jonsson Maria Eriksson Baaz Alf Hornborg Maria Eriksson Baaz Post/decolonial critiques and the global economy Michael McEachrane Seema Arora-Jonsson Rahel Weldeab Sebhatu Stefan Helgesson Maria Eriksson Baaz Alf Hornborg Global entanglements Klas Rönnbäck Michael McEachrane Klas Rönnbäck On decolonial global justice Michael McEachrane Klas Rönnbäck Which Sweden? Stefan Helgesson Michael McEachrane Towards a decolonial turn? Michael McEachrane Maria Eriksson Baaz and Paula Mählck Seema Arora-Jonsson Index