Far-Right Fantasies and the Articulation of the Swedish Nation in Crisis

The last decades have seen an upsurge in populist far-right, anti-gender and ethnonationalist movements across Europe, the U.S as well as globally. Since the 2008 economic crisis there has been increasing relevance of studying the linkages between crisis and populist far-right politics. How crisis is discursively constructed and articulated has been central to recent debates on populism, and in particular, how the far-rights ability to utilize emotions has been claimed key for understanding their success (Mouffe, 1995). From being a peripheral far-right party with roots in the Nazi movements, The Sweden Democrats has become one of the major parties in Swedish politics over the course of the last ten years. Since entering the parliament in 2010 the party has gained increasing influence over Swedish policies and political debate. Bridging scholarly discussions on far-right parties and populism with psychoanalytic applications within cultural theory in dialogue with feminist and critical race theory, this paper discusses how the Sweden Democrats uses emotions in relation to class, gender and race in their articulation of the Swedish nation in crisis. The paper draws on a discourse analytical approach analyzing a wide range of material consisting of political speeches, campaign videos and interviews with party supporters. It examines far-right fantasies regarding migrants, “the political establishment”, feminists and “left liberals” who are given a central explanatory role for the wide range of social issues they perceive Sweden is facing today. These issues vary from an overburdened welfare state on the verge to collapse, “feminism gone too far”, fear of crime and terrorism to everyday issues such as “disorderly conduct” of “the racial other” in public spaces. The Swedish Democratic crisis narrative is strongly emotive and utilizes a wide range of emotions from panic, fear, disgust and irritation to love and care. These are all emotions that play central but different roles in their ideological project. The love and worry for the nation as well as irritation and anger about “things aren´t the way they should be” are central emotional narratives of the party supporters. Insights on how the Sweden Democratic emotional regime acknowledges as well as shapes these emotions, and thereby how they mobilize and bind supporters to their political project, hope to contribute to scholarly debates linking crisis and far-right politics. Mouffe, C. (1995). The end of politics and the rise of the radical right. DISSENT-NEW YORK-, 498-498.