Challenging Racism or Promoting Multiculturalism? Approaches to Anti-Racism in Finland

Abstract

This thesis looks at how professionals and volunteers, who work in opposing racism organised under a network of NGOs and individuals, see the field of anti-racism. This is a qualitative study, in which I have conducted interviews and sent out a questionnaire to different anti-racists in order to obtain data. I have presented my findings on how my research group sees anti-racism and problems they face in the work through thorough quoting of the committed anti-racists.

Racism and its effect has been studied extensively for several years now and although racism studies almost exclusively have an anti-racist agenda, I think that also anti-racism needs to be theorised upon, in order to come up with new solutions for tackling racism, as it is difficult to see how different anti-racist projects affect society and what can be learnt from them.

My work is considered with anti-racism in Finland during, what I call a ‘transnational turn’, or a setting of increased immigration and consequences this generates in society. I present how immigration to Finland has taken place in recent years and also different forms of racism, besides these two main concepts, the thesis also deals with multiculturalism and multicultural anti-racism approaches.

I present theories concerning anti-racism and multiculturalism, and categorise my informant’s views on anti-racism within previous categories namely by Alistair Bonnett, as my material has not allowed me to create my own categories. However, I also try write an alternative interpretation of the material, that of radical anti-racism.

KEYWORDS: anti-racism, racism, multiculturalism, immigrant rights