Xenophobic Exclusion and the New Right in Norway

The article of Phelps and his co-authors, based on data from the newspaper language in Norway since 1984, contains a number of interesting observations and important findings. Notably, it demonstrates the growth of a more nuanced and specific discourse about minority/ majority relations, where the term utlending (foreigner) might have been sufficient in the 1980s, terms such as tamilsk (Tamil) or av pakistansk opprinnelse (of Pakistani origin) are now more widespread in designating individuals of non-European origin. On the other hand, the authors suggest an increased, if implicit, preoccupation with race/ phenotype in depictions of non-Europeans, but add that a new terminology emphasising the inclusion of immigrants in ‘a greater We’ (as the Foreign Minister once put it) has emerged during the same period. There can be no disagreement about the main conclusion, which is well documented, namely that the preoccupation with immigration and the fraught relationship of cultural pluralism to classic Norwegian nationhood has grown perceptibly in importance since the mid-1980s. This is evident in politics, the media and the broader public sphere. However, the view that there is an increased concern with race/phenotype is more debatable. There are few reasons to believe that White immigrants were discriminated against some decades ago and that a racialisation of the boundary has subsequently developed. In the post-war years, East European refugees were generally welcomed into the country, and their children became virtually indistinguishable from other Norwegian. (Think of the famous jazz musician Jan Garbarek; nobody thinks of his Polish origins, and indeed, he is known for bringing the deep traditions of Norwegian folk music into jazz.) Black people were, at the same time, routinely depicted in stereotypical and pejorative ways. The authors’ emphasis of the ambiguity of symbolic boundaries is important. There is not one narrative about the relationship between ethnic Norwegians and (different categories of) immigrants, but many. Attitudes are not fixed, but shift situationally. Black people who do well in sports virtually become ‘honorary whites’, and Pakistani-Norwegians who criticise their parents’ cultural traditions are warmly embraced by otherwise xenophobic elements in Norwegian society. As the public debate after the terrorist attacks of 22 July 2011 has made clear, many terminologies are available, and many political positions exist concerning the