Nationalism, Gender and Welfare: The politics of gender equality in Scandinavia

Feminist scholars have pointed out that constructions of gender and gender equality are embedded in national narratives and politics of belonging (Yuval-Davis 2011; Siim & Mokre 2013). This paper aims to explore the gendered approaches to nationalism and to discuss how nationalism in Scandinavia is associated with ‘social democratic’ perceptions of welfare and gender equality. Brochmann and Hagelund (2010) have pointed towards a specific form of Scandinavian welfare nationalism which is challenged by globalization and increased migration. We add that gender equality is a key aspect of the Scandinavian politics of belonging and that this has implications for our understanding of the challenges which can be recognised in the contemporary politics of gender and welfare in Scandinavia. This point is illustrated by exploring the problematic ways in which contemporary nationalist parties in Sweden, Denmark and Norway have linked national belongings with support for the welfare state and gender equality politics. These observations in turn raise theoretical, normative and analytical questions about understandings and conceptualizations of the intersections of nationalism, welfare and gender. The first section briefly introduces two influential theoretical approaches to nationalism and gender: those of Nira Yuval Davis (2011; 1997) and Umut Özkirimli (2005; 2010). It aims to evolve the theoretical understandings of nationalism and gender further and confront the theoretical approaches with the particular Nordic histories, institutions, ideas and actors. Second, the paper presents some of the defining aspects of the Scandinavian welfare and gender regimes as identified by Scandinavian feminist researchers and discusses potentials and problems of Nordic equality politics using Yuval Davis and Özkirimli. Third, It briefly illustrates the framings of welfare, gender equality and the family in three nationalist parties: the Norwegian Progress Party, the Sweden Democrats and the Danish Peoples’ Party. The last section reflects on the changes in the Nordic political landscape and current reformulations of the countries welfare and gender equality policies and discusses the need for feminist approaches to reframe gender equality/justice from a transnational intersectional perspective. We propose that one way of addressing the new post-national constellations would be to transcend the exclusive notions of solidarity tied to the nation state and formulate more inclusive notions of solidarity and justice.