Liberty, Equality, Exclusion - Sverigedemokraterna and liberal anti-immigrant frames in western Europe

Abstract

In this thesis, I firstly present my view on how to define the anti-immigrant party family in Western Europe. I argue for a broad grouping including parties sharing resentment towards immigration and multiculturalism as central contents of their politics even though they have different origins and partially different ideologies. To assert that anti-immigrant parties are right-wing authoritarian and ethnonationalist is not always accurate; instead parties use frames that work in specific country contexts.

Secondly, I analyse the anti-immigrant frames used by Sverigedemokraterna and claim that it is possible to see a diffusion of the liberal frames used by the Dutch Lijst Pim Fortuyn. SD is increasingly claiming to stand up for e.g. secularism, freedom of speech, gender equality and LGBT rights against perceived threats from immigrant groups in general and Muslims in particular. These themes, almost exclusively related to immigrants, are combined with themes like costs and perceived criminality of immigrants.

This diffusion of liberal frames to the national conservative SD can be at least partially understood by the fact that Sweden and the Netherlands are both liberal countries. It can be seen as confirmation of the argument that anti-immigrant parties with different ideologies can be grouped as a family.