Jens Rydgren – författare

EU:s sammanhållning är satt på sitt hittills svåraste prov. I den ekonomiska krisens spår ser vissa medlemsländer arbetslösheten stiga dramatiskt och tvingas till kraftiga neddragningarna i välfärden. I andra medlemsländer går krisen relativt obemärkt förbi. Otryggheten och skillnaderna på Europas arbetsmarknad utgör grogrund för nationalism och främlingsfientlighet. Krav hörs på en mer restriktiv migrationspolitik. Samtidigt står Europa, med sin åldrande befolkning, inför en allvarlig demografisk och välfärdspolitisk utmaning. Många hävdar därför att EU:s konkurrenskraft och tillväxt på sikt måste bygga på en kraftigt ökad arbetskraftsinvandring. Den här boken behandlar dynamiken mellan arbetslöshet, migrationspolitik och nationalism som en avgörande framtidsfråga för EU. Vilka konsekvenser har den stigande arbetslösheten och de växande nationalistiska strömningarna för migrationspolitiken i Europa? Klarar EU att hantera de motsättningar som följer av att vissa medlemsländer trappar upp sin argumentation för nationella särlösningar? Kommer den fria rörligheten och EU:s gemensamma arbetsmarknad att kunna upprätthållas? Räcker tilliten mellan EU-länderna för att enas om ett gemensamt regelverk kring arbetskraftsinvandringen, som på en gång tillvaratar migranternas rättigheter och löser unionens långsiktiga demografiska problem?

Den här boken är en hyllning till skönlitteraturens rikedom och till den sociologiska fantasin.

Skönlitteraturen illustrerar samhällsvetenskapliga kärnresonemang, den väcker nya frågor om människans existentiella villkor och den sprider nytt ljus över vårt sätt att se på världen. Men trots att samhällsvetenskapen kan sägas ha uppstått under samma epok som den moderna litteraturen, och trots att de har fascinationen inför samhället och det s­ociala samspelet gemensamt, så har skönlitteraturen märkligt nog inte någon naturlig plats i samhällsvetarens verktygslåda.

Sociologi genom litteratur tjänar både som en reflektion över samhällsvetenskapens egenart och som en inbjudan till samhällsvetare att använda skönlitteraturen som ett fönster mot den sociala verkligheten.

Bokens redaktörer, Christofer Edling och Jens Rydgren, är professorer i sociologi vid Lunds respektive Stockholms universitet. Författarna representerar flera generationer av i dag verksamma svenska sociologer.

Medverkande författare: Ola Agevall, Göran Ahrne, Patrik Aspers, Reza Azarian, Paavo Bergman, Stina Bergman Blix, Alexandra Bogren, Christofer Edling, Hedvig Ekerwald, Marie Evertsson, Mats Franzén, Magnus Haglunds, Carl-Göran Heidegren, Antoinette Hetzler, Bo Isenberg, Magnus Karlsson, Jonas Lindström, Gunnar Olofsson, Anders Persson, Abby Peterson, Jens Rydgren, Lambros Roumbanis, Lisbeth Stenberg, Lotta Stern, Mikaela Sundberg, Stefan Svallfors, Richard Swedberg, Maria Törnqvist, Denny Vågerö, Åsa Wettergren, Malin Åkerström.

The resurgence of strong radical right-wing parties and movements constitutes one of the most significant political changes in democratic states during the past several decades, particularly in Europe. The radical right's comeback has notably attracted interest from political scientists, sociologists, and historians, although the majority of past research focuses on party and electoral politics. In contrast, The Oxford Handbook of the Radical Right not only covers existing literature, but also shows how the radical right forms movements rather than parties. Editor Jens Rydren has gathered an international cast of contributors to cover concepts and definitions; ideologies and discourses; and a range of contemporary issues such as religion, globalization, gender, and activism. Further, this volume is one of few to provide a number of cases focusing on areas outside of Europe, including Russia, the US, Australia, Israel, and Japan. By integrating various strands of scholarship on the radical right that covers different regions and different research perspectives, this Handbook provides an authoritative and state of the art overview of the topic and will set the agenda for scholarship on the radical right for years to come.

In this book, leading sociologists expand the scope of their discipline by revealing the sociological aspects of the works of great philosophers, scientists, and writers.Sociologists have long recognized that sociological insight can be gleaned from creative thinkers outside their formal discipline. Sociological Insights of Great Thinkers: Sociology through Literature, Philosophy, and Science captures and examines those insights in 32 essays that discuss scholars and writers not normally associated with any sociological school of thought.Following a tradition of enriching the sociological toolkit by finding influence in philosophy and literature, the volume's contributors—an international group of renowned scholars—eschew biography to focus solely on sociological interpretations that can be drawn from the work of many of history's preeminent thinkers. Among the book's subjects are philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, Kant, and Cassirer; scientists such as Darwin and Galileo; and authors such as Kafka, Proust, and Shakespeare. The essays not only allow readers to see such thinkers in a new light, but underscore the fact that sociological questions have lain at the very heart of humanity throughout history.

This book examines how social democratic parties have responded to populist radical right parties in the battle for support from working-class voters.It focuses on the paradigmatic examples of social democratic parties in the Nordic countries. Historically these have been the strongest social democratic parties, but they have declined in recent years partly due to the competition from populist radical right parties. In addition, since populist radical right parties tend to support liberal and conservative parties in parliament or in governmental negotiations, social democratic parties’ ability to impact broader policy areas has declined as well. The book provides a detailed empirical account of how social democratic parties – and more broadly, labour movement organisations, including unions – have responded to these challenges across Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway.This volume will be of interest to scholars of party politics, comparative politics, Nordic politics, and the populist radical right.

This book examines how social democratic parties have responded to populist radical right parties in the battle for support from working-class voters.It focuses on the paradigmatic examples of social democratic parties in the Nordic countries. Historically these have been the strongest social democratic parties, but they have declined in recent years partly due to the competition from populist radical right parties. In addition, since populist radical right parties tend to support liberal and conservative parties in parliament or in governmental negotiations, social democratic parties’ ability to impact broader policy areas has declined as well. The book provides a detailed empirical account of how social democratic parties – and more broadly, labour movement organisations, including unions – have responded to these challenges across Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway.This volume will be of interest to scholars of party politics, comparative politics, Nordic politics, and the populist radical right.

One of the most significant events in European politics the past two decades is the emergence of radical right-wing parties, mobilizing against immigration and multiethnic societies. Such parties have established themselves in a large number of countries, often with voter shares exceeding ten and sometimes even twenty percent. Many of these parties exert a real influence on the policy within respective country.The emergence of the recent wave of radical right-wing party politics has generated a large and growing literature, spanning a variety of dimensions—such as ideology, voting, and policy impact. This volume will cover all these dimensions, but it will in particular focus on two questions: why is it that the working class tends to be especially attracted by the radical right-wing parties? And what does the radical right-wing parties growing electoral successes mean for Social Democracy and the traditional left in Europe, which are meeting growing competition from the radical right over working class voters? Bringing together the leading scholars within this field, this book makes a unique contribution by focusing on the relationship between class politics and the radical right.

One of the most significant events in European politics the past two decades is the emergence of radical right-wing parties, mobilizing against immigration and multiethnic societies. Such parties have established themselves in a large number of countries, often with voter shares exceeding ten and sometimes even twenty percent. Many of these parties exert a real influence on the policy within respective country.The emergence of the recent wave of radical right-wing party politics has generated a large and growing literature, spanning a variety of dimensions—such as ideology, voting, and policy impact. This volume will cover all these dimensions, but it will in particular focus on two questions: why is it that the working class tends to be especially attracted by the radical right-wing parties? And what does the radical right-wing parties growing electoral successes mean for Social Democracy and the traditional left in Europe, which are meeting growing competition from the radical right over working class voters? Bringing together the leading scholars within this field, this book makes a unique contribution by focusing on the relationship between class politics and the radical right.

During the last decade and a half a new political party family, the extreme Right-wing populist (ERP) parties, has established itself in a variety of West European democracies. These parties represent a monist politics based on ethnic nationalism and xenophobia as well as an opposition against the 'political establishment'. Being the prototypic ERP party, the French Front National (FN) has been a model for ERP parties emerging elsewhere in Western Europe.This study presents a theoretically based explanation that combines the macro and the micro-level, as well as the political supply and the demand-side. More specifically, this study shows that it is necessary to consider both opportunity structures, created by demand and supply-side factors, as well as the ability of the FN to take advantage of the available opportunities. Of particular interest is the author's analysis of the sociology and attitudes of the FN-voters.

During the last decade and a half a new political party family, the extreme Right-wing populist (ERP) parties, has established itself in a variety of West European democracies. These parties represent a monist politics based on ethnic nationalism and xenophobia as well as an opposition against the 'political establishment'. Being the prototypic ERP party, the French Front National (FN) has been a model for ERP parties emerging elsewhere in Western Europe.This study presents a theoretically based explanation that combines the macro and the micro-level, as well as the political supply and the demand-side. More specifically, this study shows that it is necessary to consider both opportunity structures, created by demand and supply-side factors, as well as the ability of the FN to take advantage of the available opportunities. Of particular interest is the author's analysis of the sociology and attitudes of the FN-voters.

cThis cutting-edge book presents a unique focus on nationalism and migration, exploring the relationship between these two concepts in countries throughout the world. Combining theoretical and empirical discussions from a range of disciplinary perspectives, the book questions the rise of nationalism in the 21st century instead of simply assuming its ascendancy.Featuring contributions from leading scholars in the field, this book not only conceptualises ethno-nationalism, but also details its effects. From Islamophobia and racism in Europe and North America, to xenophobia in China and South Africa, the book critically examines the many forms of discursive and material exclusions that exist across the globe. Rejecting a simple framework that links the supposed rise of ethno-nationalism to the limits of neoliberalism, it instead argues that nationalism and neoliberalism may in fact be combined. It also considers how this leads to discourses, policies and practices of differential inclusion and exclusion, and vice versa.International and multidisciplinary in scope, Migration and Nationalism will be a beneficial read for academics, researchers and students in politics and public policy, geography, sociology and social policy, urban and regional studies, and development studies. It also will be of benefit to policymakers within these fields.