Research output
Complete citation
Poljarevic, Emin. “Disintegration of the Swedish Model.” Islamic Horizons 53, no. 3 (May–June 2024).
Status
Published (2024)
Publication type
Public scholarship
Overview
This essay traces the weakening of the Swedish social model and considers its consequences for solidarity, equality, civil society, and Muslim participation. It connects welfare-state retrenchment, market-oriented reform, segregation, and widening socioeconomic inequality to the political rise of nationalism and Islamophobia. The analysis emphasises that the Swedish model was not merely a set of public benefits but an institutional settlement supported by organised labour, civic education, social trust, and broadly shared commitments to inclusion. As these foundations eroded, Muslim organisations encountered greater suspicion and reduced institutional support, even while continuing to contribute to local association life and democratic participation. The essay’s contribution is to place contemporary debates about Swedish Muslims within a wider transformation of political economy and civil society rather than explaining exclusion primarily through cultural difference.
Research question or central concern
How has the erosion of the Swedish social model reshaped civil society, social solidarity, and the position of Muslim organisations?
Main argument, approach, and contribution
The essay links neoliberal restructuring and welfare retrenchment to segregation, declining trust, nationalism, and Islamophobia. It contributes a structural account of Muslim civic vulnerability within Sweden’s broader democratic transformation.
Keywords
Swedish model; welfare state; civil society; Islamophobia; Muslim organisations; neoliberalism; social solidarity; Sweden
Emin Poljarević 