Decolonial Sweden exposes the social and political relevance of European colonialism to Sweden and its place in the world. It is a book that points to why and how Sweden is to be included in global decolonial struggles.
Sweden is often displayed as an ethnoracially homogenous country without any colonial history: an open and tolerant human rights champion, anti-racist, anti-colonial and in solidarity with the Global South. For over twenty years, authors Michael McEachrane and Louis Faye have been challenging this account, pointing to Sweden’s involvement in colonial histories and legacies, its racialized nationhood, and embedded colonial structures. This important new book reflects a decolonial turn in research, emphasising that coloniality is far from over, and that challenging global injustices remains an unfinished and open-ended process. Chapters in the book consider the resistance of the Sami people to Swedish colonialism, whether Sweden owes the Caribbean reparations for its colonisation of St Barthelemy and involvement in the transatlantic trade, Sweden’s involvement in a colonial global economy, and how white European identification is embedded in Swedish politics, nation-building and society. Engaging and insightful, Decolonial Sweden invites readers to reconsider Swedish attitudes towards race, colonialism, and international relations.
This book is an essential read for Post- and Decolonial scholars and students of Critical Race Studies, Africana Studies, International Relations, Global Development, and Political Science, as well as for anyone interested in Sweden’s place in the world.