Swedish Colorblindness and Post-Racism : A Study on Colorblindness and Post-Racism and its influence on Swedish law

Abstract: Although the reality of Swedish race relations is very complex, Sweden presents itself to the world as a colorblind utopia where race does not exist. Since the mid-1900s, Sweden has embraced an anti-racist rhetoric that developed into post-racism and colorblindness, where race is not seen, and racial discrimination is not acknowledged as a societal problem. This study seeks to problematize the complexities of Swedish post-racism and colorblindness. By drawing on previous research, it is clear that the Swedish hegemony has not been thoroughly deconstructed, which necessitates further studies in this area. By drawing on the WPR approach to poststructural policy analysis, this study looks at how Swedish law is influenced by the narratives of colorblindness and details the shortcomings of excluding the term ‘race’ from legislation. Furthermore, this study employs expert interviews to access the knowledge of experts on how colorblindness and post-racism came to be. It is concluded in this thesis that the post-racist and colorblind perception of Sweden influences Swedish law in negative ways and that the removal of the term race is a denial of the existence of a racial hierarchy in Sweden.