ABSTRACT
Denmark and Sweden are broadly recognized as established democracies and in general do not have to struggle for recognition in that capacity. Both Denmark and Sweden perceive themselves as spatially and temporally delimited national entities but they also view themselves as inherently democratic. In particular, the difference lies in approaching the issues of immigration, with Denmark defining itself as a monocultural nation, and Sweden embracing a multiculturalist perspective. The Danish critique of Sweden has been complemented by equally critical Swedish interventions arguing, as Hanne Sanders puts it, that the Danes are 'treating people in a morally questionable and undemocratic fashion'. Instead of carving out more progressive and democratic alternatives within the nationalist logic, traditional nationalism has been 'turned upside down', thus leading to anti-nationalism as a national paradigm.
