Mabel Berezin is a professor of sociology at Cornell University focusing on political movements and ideologies and author of “Illiberal Politics in Neoliberal Times: Cultures, Security, and Populism in a New Europe.” She sees the results from the Swedish general election as part of a larger nationalist right reaction to EU policies.
Berezin says:
“The surge of the Sweden Democrats is not surprising in the broader European context. It is easy to emphasize the ‘anti-immigrant’ dimension of this party and ignore other salient social and economic concerns that it represents.
“Since the financial crisis in Europe began in 2010, nationalist parties across Europe have made electoral inroads. Austerity policies that the EU demanded in response to the crisis have contributed to rising unemployment particularly among youth. Even Sweden has a 23.4 percent youth unemployment rate.
“Across Europe, mainstream political parties have been reluctant to stand up to the EU. Nationalist right parties have seized the opportunity to represent the people against the EU. Left and right center parties should take note, and perhaps, the Swedish election will force them to pay attention to the concerns of the citizens that drive nationalist right parties forward.”
Bio: http://www.soc.cornell.edu/faculty/berezin.html
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