MACMILLAN Feminisms in the Nordic Region: Neoliberalism, Nationalism and Decolonial Critique (Gender and Politics)

This book explores how feminist movements in the Nordic region challenge the increasing gender, race and class inequalities following the global economic crisis, neoliberal capitalism and austerity politics, and how they position themselves in the face of the rise of nationalism and right-wing populism. The book contextualizes these recent events in the long histories of racial and colonial power relations embedded in Nordic societies and their gender equality and welfare state regimes. It examines the role of whiteness and racism and seeks to decolonize feminist knowledge and genealogies of feminist movements in the region. The contributions provide in-depth knowledge on the different orientations, dilemmas and tactics that feminisms develop in these challenging times and show the centrality of antiracist and decolonizing critiques of feminisms. They further highlight the strategies of feminist and related antiracist and indigenous movements in regards to ideas about hope, solidarity, intersectionality, and social justice. Chapters 6, 7, 9 and 10 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com. Review “This volume is a must-read for anyone interested in contemporary intersectional feminisms. It is a timely and original collection, breaking new ground in the field of gender and women* studies, critical migration and racism studies, Arctic indigenous studies, and design studies. The contributors critique the welfare state and the co-optation of feminisms into neoliberal and right-wing politics from an anti-racist feminist perspective. They decolonise Nordic feminism through highlighting long-standing anti-colonial struggles by Sámi activists, connecting these to contemporary young Women of Color and Black feminist tactics of (dis)identification and anti-racist feminist intersectional struggles in the Nordic Region.” (Encarnación Gutiérrez Rodríguez, Professor and Chair in General Sociology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany) “This vital collection addresses some of the most urgent questions facing feminists in the Nordic region and beyond. How to decolonise feminism? How to respond to the twin crises of neoliberalism and populism? How to resist racism and structural inequalities within the movement? The book provides an unflinching analysis of power dynamics within feminism, but is underpinned by a politics of hope. It is a must-read for those interested in the possibilities of feminist solidarity.” (Elizabeth Evans, Reader in Politics, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK) “By bringing questions of migration, indigeneity and de-coloniality to the forefront of feminist investigations, this important collection provides original insights into recent development of Nordic feminism. While situated in the Nordic countries, the volume will be of interest to anyone interested in how feminism has responded to neoliberalism, right-wing populism and gender conservatism. Significantly, the volume illustrates how new reconfigurations of solidarities can exist across differences – also in a time of exclusionary nationalism and racism.” (Rikke Andreassen, Professor of Culture and Media, Roskilde University, Denmark) From the Back Cover This book explores how feminist movements in the Nordic region challenge the increasing gender, race and class inequalities following the global economic crisis, neoliberal capitalism and austerity politics, and how they position themselves in the face of the rise of nationalism and right-wing populism. The book contextualizes these recent events in the long histories of racial and colonial power relations embedded in Nordic societies and their gender equality and welfare state regimes. It examines the role of whiteness and racism and seeks to decolonize feminist knowledge and genealogies of feminist movements in the region. The contributions provide in-depth knowledge on the different