Political uses of the Viking Age : The Sweden Democrats and the Danish People’s Party
(2024) In Critical Heritages of Europe p.211-225- Abstract
- This chapter explores how the two contemporary political parties, the Sweden Democrats and the Danish People’s Party, use the Vikings and the Viking Age as symbols in their national mythmaking. It examines the political dimensions of public history and the way in which these parties draw historical parallels between the Viking Age and the present in order to call for action. The relationship between cultural heritage and the creation and upholding of national identities in the two parties’ use of history is given special attention. The comparison between the parties shows that the Sweden Democrats are affected by their ties to Swedish National Socialism in their early years and that when they later tried to appeal to a wider public, they... (More)
- This chapter explores how the two contemporary political parties, the Sweden Democrats and the Danish People’s Party, use the Vikings and the Viking Age as symbols in their national mythmaking. It examines the political dimensions of public history and the way in which these parties draw historical parallels between the Viking Age and the present in order to call for action. The relationship between cultural heritage and the creation and upholding of national identities in the two parties’ use of history is given special attention. The comparison between the parties shows that the Sweden Democrats are affected by their ties to Swedish National Socialism in their early years and that when they later tried to appeal to a wider public, they adopted a more subtle strategy in their depiction of the Vikings. On the other hand, The Danish People’s Party continuously use the Vikings and the Viking Age to establish a national identity in the same manner as in the wider Danish community, meaning that a need for changes in their history writing did not occur. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- This chapter explores how the two contemporary political parties, the Sweden Democrats and the Danish People’s Party, use the Vikings and the Viking Age as symbols in their national mythmaking. It examines the political dimensions of public history and the way in which these parties draw historical parallels between the Viking Age and the present in order to call for action. The relationship between cultural heritage and the creation and upholding of national identities in the two parties’ use of history is given special attention. The comparison between the parties shows that the Sweden Democrats are affected by their ties to Swedish National Socialism in their early years and that when they later tried to appeal to a wider public, they... (More)
- This chapter explores how the two contemporary political parties, the Sweden Democrats and the Danish People’s Party, use the Vikings and the Viking Age as symbols in their national mythmaking. It examines the political dimensions of public history and the way in which these parties draw historical parallels between the Viking Age and the present in order to call for action. The relationship between cultural heritage and the creation and upholding of national identities in the two parties’ use of history is given special attention. The comparison between the parties shows that the Sweden Democrats are affected by their ties to Swedish National Socialism in their early years and that when they later tried to appeal to a wider public, they adopted a more subtle strategy in their depiction of the Vikings. On the other hand, The Danish People’s Party continuously use the Vikings and the Viking Age to establish a national identity in the same manner as in the wider Danish community, meaning that a need for changes in their history writing did not occur. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/654130bb-71a1-42e8-9493-eca261a1716a
- author
- Håkansson, Julia LU
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Viking Heritage and History in Europe : Practices and Re-Creations - Practices and Re-Creations
- series title
- Critical Heritages of Europe
- editor
- Ellis Nilsson, Sara and Nyzell, Stefan
- pages
- 15 pages
- publisher
- Routledge
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85195335829
- ISBN
- 9780367628628
- 9781003111115
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-70200 DOI: 10.4324/9781003111115-17 Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85195335829 ISBN: 9780367628628 (print) ISBN: 9781003111115 (electronic) OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-70200 DiVA, id: diva2:1888612
- id
- 654130bb-71a1-42e8-9493-eca261a1716a
- alternative location
- https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003111115-17/political-uses-viking-age-julia-h%C3%A5kansson
- date added to LUP
- 2024-10-25 07:53:20
- date last changed
- 2025-09-28 11:13:41
@inbook{654130bb-71a1-42e8-9493-eca261a1716a,
abstract = {{This chapter explores how the two contemporary political parties, the Sweden Democrats and the Danish People’s Party, use the Vikings and the Viking Age as symbols in their national mythmaking. It examines the political dimensions of public history and the way in which these parties draw historical parallels between the Viking Age and the present in order to call for action. The relationship between cultural heritage and the creation and upholding of national identities in the two parties’ use of history is given special attention. The comparison between the parties shows that the Sweden Democrats are affected by their ties to Swedish National Socialism in their early years and that when they later tried to appeal to a wider public, they adopted a more subtle strategy in their depiction of the Vikings. On the other hand, The Danish People’s Party continuously use the Vikings and the Viking Age to establish a national identity in the same manner as in the wider Danish community, meaning that a need for changes in their history writing did not occur.}},
author = {{Håkansson, Julia}},
booktitle = {{Viking Heritage and History in Europe : Practices and Re-Creations}},
editor = {{Ellis Nilsson, Sara and Nyzell, Stefan}},
isbn = {{9780367628628}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{211--225}},
publisher = {{Routledge}},
series = {{Critical Heritages of Europe}},
title = {{Political uses of the Viking Age : The Sweden Democrats and the Danish People’s Party}},
url = {{https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003111115-17/political-uses-viking-age-julia-h%C3%A5kansson}},
year = {{2024}},
}