Chapter 1 Narrations of homogeneity, waning welfare states, and the politics of solidarity

This chapter introduces the book’s critical approach to the narratives of cultural homogeneity and social cohesion that are usually taken for granted in the understandings of societal security in the Nordic region. Through historical analyses, the contributions show how the idea of exceptional cultural homogeneity was developed through activities by social scientists, nationalist politicians, journalists, and cultural actors, among others. The production of a “homogeneous nation” was achieved through repression and assimilation of indigenous peoples and ethnoracially defined minorities living within the nation-state borders. The chapter locates the themes of the book in international scientific discussions on multiculturalism, racism and securitisation in Europe. These questions have become especially pressing in the wake of the waning welfare states and expanding neoliberal policies. The chapter argues that there is a need for a politics of solidarity that is not based on expectations of cultural, ethnic, or racial homogeneity and their related exclusions. New politics of solidarity needs to acknowledge the histories and currents of colonialism and depart from an understanding of social justice that incorporates and seeks to repair the experiences of cultural and economic injustices.