Neoliberal Capitalism and Migrant Engagement in Culturally Racist Parties : The Cases of the German AfD and the Swedish SD

Sammanfattning: During the last decades, culturally racist parties, like the Sweden Democrats (SD) and the Alterna-tive for Germany (AfD), have seen a rapid growth in popularity and are now represented in parliaments in almost all European countries. Although the majority of their voters are considered white, male, and working class, a growing number of people with a migration background started sup-porting parties of said political stream that frame migration as the biggest threat to society. This thesis aims at understanding the alleged contradiction of individuals that are to different degrees racialized as immigrants becoming members in the SD and AfD. Located within discourses of racial neoliberalism, the study examines how national belonging and subject positions are constructed and contested, and how racist migrant respectability serves as a strategy of overcoming a struggle for belonging to the host society.