Reframing Nationalism, Gender and Citizenship – Critical Scandinavian Reflections

Recently political and scholarly debates have been concerned about the growth of nationalism and nativist parties and movements in Europe. Nordic scholars have pointed towards a particular Scandinavian welfare nationalism as elsewhere fueled by globalization and increased migration. Welfare and gender equality are key values embedded in Scandinavian welfare policies. The article suggests that contemporary nativist approaches to welfare nationalism combines defense of gender equality and welfare with exclusive notions of citizenship. The article aims to revisit feminist theories of nationalism inspired by the Scandinavian cases. The main argument is that the gendered approaches to nationalism need to evolve beyond notions premised on family values and motherhood in order to understand exclusionary and inclusionary Scandinavian nationalist policies. The article thus proposes to reframe gender approaches to nationalism by employing an intersectional approach to gender, welfare and citizenship, focusing on differences between native born citizens and immigrant groups.