Danish and Swedish immigrants’ cultural policies between 1960 and 2006: toleration and the celebration of difference

Abstract

In the late 1960s, as non-Nordic immigrants became an important component of their immigration flows, despite their similar policy backgrounds Sweden opted for multiculturalism, while Denmark did not. Their policies diverged even further from the so-called migration crisis of the 1990s. This article compares and analyses Sweden and Denmark’s respective policies between 1960 and 2006, arguing that their policies effectively diverged in the late 1960s; Danish assimilation is constituted of the toleration or acceptance, albeit disapproving, of immigrants’ cultures. Swedish multiculturalism, by way of contrast, celebrates difference, holding that immigrants’ cultures are necessary for their well-being and that ethnocultural diversity enriches the national culture. However, both policies deemed some aspects of immigrants’ cultures unacceptable, in that they were looked upon as illiberal or repugnant. This study also contends that, alongside citizenship and national identity studies, Ministries of Culture’s policies are a relevant field of enquiry into states’ policies on immigrants’ cultures.

Keywords:

• multiculturalism
• assimilation
• cultural policy
• Denmark
• Sweden
• immigrant integration policy

Acknowledgement

The author grateful to Vicki A. Spencer, Jim Headley, Marian Simms, Bo Petersson, Hanne Sanders, Ingegerd Municio-Larsson, Angela Nilsson as well as the two reviewers for their helpful comments and advices.