STOCKHOLM: The recent rise of nationalism in some western countries has been fuelled by an anti-immigration campaign based on the assumed negative influences migrants may have on the host country’s “culture”. Nationalists seem to conceive culture as a static concept. However, culture is not invariable, it develops and changes over time and as most things created by humans, it is also connected with power. Generally, when people define themselves as “cultured” they assert themselves as superior to others.
The nationalists’ distinction of their culture from that of others usually entails that people from a different cultural background have insurmountable “cultural differences”. Migrants are therefore considered as a homogeneous group whose outer aspects gain importance at the expense of their individual characteristics. Cultural markers such as dress codes, language and food preferences are assigned an overriding significance. The Other is transformed into a one-dimensional creature defined by her/his appearance. Such artificial dichotomies have given rise to the so called “clash of civilizations”, suggesting that the coexistence of people with different cultural identities creates conflicts. This kind of polarization between “cultures” may be connected with an instinct to define one’s self-image in relation to others, people we either identify with, or distance ourselves from. This kind of “othering” creates and maintains power and domination and has within the geopolitical sphere been connected with Western attitudes towards non–Western peoples.
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