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

	THE WELFARE STATE IS…	IMMIGRANTS ARE…	LABOUR MIGRANTS ARE…
Norway Labour Party	Ambitious model dependent on high employment rates in regulated labour markets. Important tool for integration.	Workers with low/undocumented skills.	Potentially in need of more information about their rights in the Norwegian labour market.
Sweden Labour Party	A still incomplete and contested model, which can and should do more to promote equality and social cohesion.	Newcomers who risk social exclusion and low levels of living unless inequality is combatted.	–
Denmark Labour Party	Integral part of the Danish way of life, promoting freedom, prosperity and productivity. Dependent on social cohesion.	Newcomers who too often reject Danish society and core values, establish parallel societies.	–
Norway Socialist Party	Historic victory for the left, threatened by capital, a key productive factor.	Newcomers who should be welcomed. Vulnerable to labour market exclusion.	Potentially excluded from access to Norwegian rights and labour market regulations.
Sweden Socialist Party	A product of class struggle, potentially a tool to maintain existing power relations.	Workers vulnerable to exploitation in labour markets characterised by racist structures	Exploited by poorer working conditions and stripped-down agreements.
Denmark Socialist Party	–	Victims of welfare chauvinist policies that deepen inequality, possible issues with social control and patriarchy.	Likely victims of unacceptable and greedy employer behaviour.

Table 2

Three main frames for dissolving the progressive dilemma.

	SOCIAL INVESTMENT FRAME	REDISTRIBUTION FRAME	SOCIAL COHESION FRAME
Core story and key concerns	Low-skilled workers immigrate to countries with skills-demanding labour markets. They must be helped to quality for full integration in the key institutions.	Poor, often racialized individuals immigrate to capitalist societies. They must be shielded from exploitation and poverty.	Outsiders from distant cultures migrate to a nation state with strong social cohesion. They must adopt values and customs of the new country.
Protagonist	Integrating institutions of the host country	The redistributive state	Ordinary people in the host country
Antagonists	Anyone undermining the investment project	Racists, populists (capitalism)	Immigrants resisting full integration
Main mechanisms	Education, qualification	Redistribution	Insistence on shared values, welfare chauvinism
The welfare state is vulnerable when…	Immigrants become net beneficiaries of welfare benefits, undermining long-term financial sustainability.	Historical foes of state welfare manage to exploit tensions within the working class.	The sense of social cohesion is undermined and the welfare state project loses electoral support.
The ‘progressive dilemma’ is dissolved when…	Immigrants participate fully in national labour markets, pay taxes and increase revenues.	Workers of all background recognise their shared interests and work together in solidarity.	Immigrants fully adopt core values, become valued neighbours, friends and colleagues.
Social democrats always have, and must continue to…	Create inclusive institutions, work to get ‘all onboard’	Fight for redistribution, promote from-rich-to-poor-policies	Side with ‘ordinary (native) working people’