Ethnicity should not determine who is Swedish, according to the Sweden Democrats” leadership’s stance on ”open Swedishness.” But in the Swedish government’s own documents, ethnic origin, shared history, and cultural distinctiveness play an important role. However, only certain people are allowed to invoke these factors.
The controversy over ethnicity and Swedish identity has dominated the Sweden Democrats in recent weeks. Last Friday, the party leader chose Jimmie Åkesson to support the "chief ideologist" Mattias Karlsson, who completely reject the idea that ethnicity matters when it comes to being considered Swedish. Instead, they defend the party’s stance on ”open Swedishness,” in which language, culture, and identity carry more weight than ethnic origin.
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