On June 9th, I had the opportunity to speak to Morten Messerschmidt, current leader of the Danish People’s Party, at the Ollerup Democracy Festival. I expressed that I was interested in his definition of social cohesion, as he referred to its integral role in maintaining active democratic participation. He articulated his opinions of what he thought strong social cohesiveness to be—a lack of difference, division, and strong cultural traditions. Though his response diplomatically concealed any abrasive language, given the party’s stance on immigration, I interpreted Messerschmidt’s opinion as such: in order to maintain social cohesion, there must be cultural, racial, and ethnic homogeneity.
Social cohesion is defined as “…the strength of relationships and the sense of solidarity among members of a community”5. If a community has a shared commitment to both the community as an entity to be defended as well as the individuals that comprise it, in theory, the community flourishes. From my understanding of class materials and discussions, high levels of political participation in Denmark are a good indicator of this phenomenon—because individuals feel they have a responsibility to the state and feel like their voices are heard, they become increasingly invested in the matters of the state which directly affect their livelihoods.
Objectively, then, social cohesion is high in Denmark compared to most other nations. However, this raises an essential question: who is defined as a part of the community? During our meeting with Mino Youth, we discussed the difficult process of immigrants from non western backgrounds to become integrated into Danish society, yet policies, such as ghetto laws, work to integrate immigrants through the eradication of “parallel societies”. This contradictory legislation, then, leads one to question the altruistic nature of the “gift” of integration—if the end goal is to completely assimilate immigrants into Danish society, why are children of immigrants still categorized as descendants of western or non western, a marker of difference and subsequently a barrier to complete integration? What is the criteria to become a Dane, and to be perceived as a Dane? What is the Danish conceptualization of difference?
The relationship between ethnic presentation and nationhood is best presented by Balibar, who is referenced by Jeffe-Walter. There is not a tangible biological link between the nation and ethnicity, it instead fixates “…on notions of peoplehood produced by cultural elites who mold a vision of the nation based on preferred notions of ethnicity and sameness” 4. The idea that a nation must be visibly homogenous is a socially constructed idea, but one that has been historically adopted and subconsciously accepted. In the context of Danish society, then, it becomes convenient to rashly take this definition and label sameness as good and difference as bad. However, if we are to examine this relationship a little more critically, it reveals greater complexities.
From the late 1800s to the early 1900s, a number of exhibitions were held in which people of “exotic” origins were put on display in what were called “human zoos”. Human zoos became somewhat of a trend among western nations—from the St. Louis World’s fair to the Scottish Exhibition, Denmark is not absolved of participation. Most of the Danish exhibitions were hosted at the Copenhagen Zoological Garden as well as the Tivoli amusement park. These exhibitions were both for entertainment and education for the Danish public, as they could observe the “natives” in their “natural habitats” 1. The archival materials that Andreassen recovered included expressions of curiosity, eroticism, fascination, and lust—examples include attendees describing the “nicely built” physiques of African men, expressing that they are a “treat to the eyes” 1. Difference, then, as examined by Andreassen’s work, has the possibility to evoke pleasurable feelings. Additionally, if we are to reference Danbolt’s work on the Haribo Skipper case, we can see how this phenomenon may take place in a more modern context—gummies, by being objects of indulgence by nature, subsequently associate the innocent consumption of sweets with the racist caricatures of African and Asian men3 .
When, then, does difference transform from being pleasurable to being threatening? The human zoos and the Skipper case reveal two avenues of similarity: the commodification of race and the role of the onlooker. The nature of the human exhibitions both allows the attendee to perceive the “exotic” as a visually stimulating object of curiosity, rarity, or sensation. In the process of displaying vulnerability behind glass walls or fences, the attendee is able to separate themselves from what they see as a spectacle whose inherent purpose is to be looked at. In the case of the Skipper gummies, the caricatures of minorities are quite literally commodified—-produced in a factory and sold for profit. As expressed by Danbolt, for those outraged by Haribo Sweden to change the gummies, it is not about the racist images in candy. It is simply about candy—-sweet, chewy, and dopamine inducing. The Haribo case demonstrates the culture of racial exceptionalism within many nordic countries, in which racism is understood as blatant manifestations of biological inferiority, such as plantation slavery, South African apartheid, or the Nazi regime. The possibility of racism, then, as having the ability to permeate itself within the daily lives of common people is not a widely accepted notion, and is instead understood as something historical and distant 2 6.
Difference, then, aside from being a potential source of pleasure, can also strengthen social cohesion within certain members of a community. By applying the same concept of the onlooker, if individuals with shared traits are able to define themselves as both different and separate, they become an exclusive community with the ability to bond over those shared differences. I believe this to be the basis for the Danish’s People’s Party’s stance on social cohesion as well as their opposition to immigration—-immigrants can be seen as breaking the glass enclosures, crossing that line of difference in which many Danish communities have established. They thus challenge the roles of the perceiver and the perceived, threatening the long standing uniform ethnic culture of Danish society. By claiming Danish citizenship and nationality, immigrants jeopardize the source of difference that sets Denmark, for example, apart from and above other nations.
If we are to build the foundation of social cohesiveness on structures of oppression through colonial narratives, we set the precedent for a self-serving society devoid of empathy. Rather than thinking of community as just a group of people with superficial links to one another, there is a need to turn community into something actionable—-by approaching people with a community centered mindset based on empathetic values, we build stronger bonds with one another based on the true defining characteristics of an individual: their character, integrity, and individuality. That is, I think, the first step to becoming global citizens—-rebuilding what we have destroyed, destroying what we need to rebuild, one story at a time.
References
- Andreassen, R. (2012). Representations of Sexuality and Race at Danish Exhibitions of “Exotic” People at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, NORA – Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research, 20:2, 126-147, DOI: 10.1080/08038740.2011.623680
- Andreassen, R., & Vitus, K. (2015). Affectivity and Race in the Nordic Countries. Ashgate, Surrey & Burlington.
- Danbolt, M. (2017). Retro Racism: Colonial Ignorance and Racialized Affective Consumption in Danish Public Culture. Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 7(2), 105-113.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/njmr-2017-0013
- Jaffe-Walter, R. (2016). Coercive Concern: Nationalism, Liberalism, and the Schooling of Muslim Youth. Stanford University Press.
- Kawachi, I., & Berkman, L. (2000). Social cohesion, social capital, and health. Social Epidemiology, 174(7), 290–319
- Keskinen, S et al. (2009). Complying with Colonialism: Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the Nordic Region, Ashgate, Burlington.
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