Abstract
Today Swedish archaeology and cultural heritage management are embraced by the xenophobic party Sweden Democrats. This is a problematic situation, and once again it is therefore time to discuss the rela tionship between archaeology, cultural heritage and politics – not as a consequence of theoretical considera tions and standpoints, but against the background of the harsh political reality. The overall aim of this pa per is to contribute to the discussion concerning which strategy, or strategies, Swedish archaeology and cul tural heritage management should adopt as a response to the present political situation and as a defence of a solidaristic and multicultural Swedish society.
Highlights
We will have to see, it’s the politics that determine
In the Swedish parlia ment elections that were held in September 2010 the party received ap proximately 5.7% of the total number of votes and as a result entered the Swedish parliament for the first time
Sweden Democrats (SD) wants to increase the support to associations, organizations, authorities and institutions that aim at the preservation and stimulation of the Swedish cultural heritage, which SD views as neglected and threatened by the broadly accepted Swedish political agenda of multiculturalism (SD 2010a)
Summary
We will have to see, it’s the politics that determine. I’m not determining, we will have to see what the politics lead to (our translation). Contribute to the discussion concerning which strategy, or strategies, Swedish archaeology and cultural heritage management should adopt in relation to the existing political situation where the ultra-rightwing party SD embraces and supports our activities, at the same time as this party wants to use both us and cultural heritage in the service of its xenophobic policy. Today nobody working within these fields can be unaware of the political and constructivist dimensions inherent in the interpretation and understanding of the past At this point it may suffice to conclude that there seems to be a general acceptance of the connection between archaeology and politics within Swedish archaeology, but as we shall see below there are profound dif ferences between the standpoints when it comes to questions such as the following: Is this connection unavoidable or not, should archaeol ogy and the cultural heritage be used to support specific political ideas in contemporary society, and, if so, what kinds of ideas?. Let us briefly examine and discuss SD’s view on cultural heritage, not least since it is a good example of how the cultural heritage is po litical and how this party wants to use it for specific political purposes
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