Scandinavian Social Democrats Facing The ‘Progressive Dilemma’: Immigration and Welfare States In Left-of-Centre Party Programs

An increasing concern in European politics is the potential tension between immigration and inclusive welfare states, suggesting that policy actors must choose one or the other. This is known as ‘the progressive dilemma’, which in Scandinavia becomes the social democratic dilemma. This article analyses how Scandinavian social democratic parties frame immigration and welfare policies to diffuse the dilemma in their party programs. Building on a review of the sociological, political and economic arguments underpinning the notion of a progressive dilemma, I undertake a qualitative analysis of the most recent party programs, as well as targeted documents on immigration, produced by the party organisations. Six social democratic and socialist parties in Norway, Sweden and Denmark are included. The analysis identifies a variety of ways to weave welfare state issues and immigration together. Abstracting from the empirical findings, I distil three key frames that dissolve the progressive dilemma, all drawing on established social democratic traditions: the social investment frame (the third way), the redistribution frame (Marxist tradition) and the social cohesion frame (social democrats as the voice of ‘ordinary people’).