On Oct. 30, Dag Blanck, director of the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center and honorary professor of Swedish-American studies, gave a presentation titled, “’Trump and Harris from Abroad: How the American Election is Seen in Sweden.” Blanck discussed how American culture and politics are viewed in Sweden, highlighting our country’s role in political issues nationwide.
Delivered shortly before Election Day, Blanck emphasized the importance of American elections, relating the role of the President of the United States to other foreign countries. Blanck shared his time researching at Augustana College and Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden.
“The United States is such an important country, a superpower, in the sense the United States influences the world in so many ways,” Blanck said. “So, the rest of the world has a vested interest in who is the president of the United States.”
Many Swedish books have been published regarding the election and the United States, he said. There are Swedish news sources, such as one led by Fouad Youcefi, dedicated to relaying U.S. domestic issues and information about the election, Blanck said.
“If you open the Swedish newspaper, especially now, you will see almost nothing else besides the United States and the election,” Blanck said.
Swedish interest is so strong that Blanck said 40% of foreign news is about the election. Many Swedes are concerned about the outcome of the 2024 presidential election and its impact on global politics. This year’s election leaves questions about issues including NATO and war in Ukraine and Gaza.
He said the Swedish population finds issues such as immigration and climate change to be very important as well. Blanck said there was a significant amount of Swedes who disliked Donald Trump in 2017 compared to those who were in favor of him, according to a Swedish poll that he presented.
“There’s an overwhelming concern for the return of Donald Trump,” Blanck said.
Associate Professor and Director of Scandinavian Studies, Mark Safstrom, said that Swedes identify themselves more easily with our Democratic Party’s politics rather than the Republican Party’s politics.
When learning about foreign countries, Safstrom said it is important to recognize that different cultures have different priorities. He also emphasized the role of the United States in these different political ideas and issues.
“If you think about the international conflicts [and] wars that the United States is involved in, or policies, certainly the view of how the U.S. welcomes or does not welcome immigrant groups could have a positive or negative impact depending on which countries are affected by those policies,” Safstrom said.
He said that it is important for students to have a broad understanding of what is going on in the world because we are more focused on the immediate things around us. Junior Leslie Moreno said that Blanck’s presentation was able to give her insight into how other countries may be affected by the results of the election.
“It’s interesting how people perceive us because we set an example in a way, we have all of these countries watching us,” Moreno said. “It makes me think about how other countries are affected and makes me ask myself ‘Oh should I be more considerate of things, such as the climate policy?’”
