Education and Coloniality in the Nordics

Current research maintains that the Nordic countries, despite their contextual differences, are prone to amnesia and sanctioned ignorance in relation to their colonial histories, legacies, and structures (Eriksen, 2021; Fjellheim, 2023; Höglund Jore, 2022; Keskinen et al., 2019; Kuokkanen, 2023; Loftsdóttir Mikander, 2016; Pashby et al., 2020. As Quijano (2000) describes, European colonialism from the 15th century did not end with historical colonialism based on territorial occupation; enduring power and knowledge structures were installed in and through modernity, described as coloniality. Coloniality entails a specific colonial matrix of power (CMP), grounded in race as an organizing principle. CMP permeates social, political, environmental, and epistemological systems of capitalist modernity in local and context-specific ways. This special issue (SI) aims to advance critical discussions about coloniality in relation to education in the Nordic region. Education has been proven to reproduce coloniality, epistemic violence and racism, but represents at the same time potential avenues towards decolonial, socially just and sustainable futures. A decolonial conversation must give room for a diversity of voices. This is due, not least, to the harsh pushbacks experienced by researchers who raise these concerns in the Nordic context. As scholars, we see worrying signs emerging from the consequences of mainstreaming of radical right-wing politics. These include cuts to welfare and development aid and limiting rights for refugees – all aspects which have commonly been seen as intrinsic to Nordic national identities. The recent case of Tobias Hübinette, a scholar in critical race and whiteness studies, is an alarming example of how academics are being threatened. A supporter of the radical right wing enrolled in his class recorded and disrupted the lecture, attempting to silence Hübinette’s research on questions about racism in general. Despite the student being a threat to university staff and students, they were not expelled (Norheim et al., 2023). The case highlights the need for joining forces and making space for conversations across the Nordic community of researchers engaged in the issues of race, racism, whiteness, and coloniality. The first articles in this SI were written by Jore and Fagerheim Kalsås, and open with theoretical discussions concerning approaches to coloniality in Nordic education. The following contributions show the richness of the field, taking on a diversity of approaches, including poststructuralist and critical whiteness theories, post- and decolonial perspectives, and indigenous methodologies, as well as more empirically oriented and descriptive pieces. Although these methodological strands have many overlaps and are in practice often combined in research, they are also at certain points conflicting (cf. Eriksen Finbog, 2023; Groglopo Keskitalo & Olsen, 2021). We do, however, consider diversity as a strength. Coloniality is complex and can be considered a foundational concept that encompasses many distinct processes and structures at multiple levels (Kuokkanen, 2023). With this editorial, the aim is to provide background knowledge and an axis of navigation for the articles in this SI. We start with a brief recap on the multiple ways in which colonialism, racial violence, and white supremacy form part of the history of the Nordic countries. As this overview shows, decolonial perspectives have been surprisingly belated in the region. We then give a brief introduction to education and decolonization in the Nordic region – a subject that is much better explored in the individual contributions. Then, finally, we draw special attention to acknowledging indigenous perspectives in analyzing decoloniality in the Nordic region and intra-Nordic relations.