Racial Discrimination in Sweden and the US: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Sammanfattning: Racial discrimination is one of the most fundamental forms of social inequality. It remains prevalent in major progressive democracies such as Sweden and the United States. Limited studies have examined how the two nations differ in a comparative cross-sectional design. This paper aims to understand experiences and opinions regarding ethnicity and discrimination to explore differences and similarities on these aspects in the United States and Sweden in university students. The current study also examines the importance of racial identity and the ideas of system justification and racial consciousness. Analysis of responses (n = 2307) in a web-based questionnaire found that non-whites consider their racial/ethnic backgrounds to be more important to their identity compared to whites in both nations, Sweden defends system justification more than the United States, the ‘American’ identity is more open compared to ‘Swedish’ regardless of racial/ethnic group, and there is a higher self-reported racial discrimination rate in Sweden than the United States. University student responses were collected from 35 U.S. states and two universities in Sweden. With their different racial histories, approaches to immigration, and social policies, comparing the United States and Sweden provide interesting insights and a broader understanding of racism.