Even in Sweden Racism, Racialized Spaces, & the Popular Geographical Imagination: Racisms, Racialized Spaces, and the Popular Geographical Imagination (California Studies in Critical Human Geography)

Allan Pred is a professor of Geography at the University of California at Berkeley, but has spent some 40% of his time since 1960 in Sweden. Over the period of the 1990s, Professor Pred saw a profound change in how Sweden saw and welcomed immigrants and refugees. Prior to the 1990s, economically prospering Sweden, facing chronic labor shortages proclaimed itself a "moral superpower," acting as conscience in racial matters to the rest of the world. During the 1990s, when Sweden was hit by economic forces that raised unemployment to near-record levels and sapped money needed for the maintenance of the welfare state, Sweden began to turn against foreigners, making life difficult for those already there.

This book traces the history of this historic change in Sweden's policies, and shows how non-European and Muslim minorities are mistreated in a country that has always prided itself in its enlightened racial policies. It shows what racism can do...even in Sweden.

I find myself of two minds about this book. First off, I must say that this is a fascinating and enlightening look at modern Sweden. If you are interested in race relations in Europe, then this is definitely a book that you should read.

On the other hand, this book does have its problems. First of all, in trying to give weight to his words, the author makes extensive use of quotations from manifold sources; in fact, far too many quotations are presented. The quotations in this book, sprinkled throughout the text, often run to two pages, giving the text a disjointed feeling. Second of all, the author goes far in assigning racist motives to people, counting any anti-immigration sentiment as de facto racism. The book begins by referencing the 1962 book, An American Dilemma by Gunnar Myrdal, a Swedish book that documents racism in America, and then turns the author's words back against Sweden, with a seeming sense that Sweden's comeuppance has finally arrived.

But, that said, the author does do an excellent job of describing present day Sweden. I was also quite intrigued by his showing that many of Sweden's modern race problems are a result of well-intentioned laws passed in the past. I give this book 3 stars, which stands for "Good," as I do think that its flaws hold it back from being the very good or even excellent book that it could have been. I give it a somewhat guarded recommendation.

Even in Sweden Racism, Racialized Spaces, & the Popular Geographical Imagination: Racisms, Racialized Spaces, and the Popular Geographical Imagination (California Studies in Critical Human Geography)

A Pred

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