The Swedish COVID-19 Enigma/Exception

• During the COVID-19 pandemic Sweden stood out globally as a country that persistently refused to take drastic measures like proclaiming a curfew or a lockdown on public and commercial facilities. Instead, a “softer” approach was chosen. The population was only recommended to restrain as much as possible from social contact as well as other cautionary measures. In this chapter this Swedish “exception” is addressed, with a focus on regional differences. Much political and media focus has been on the spread of COVID-19 in the large postindustrial cities. Instead, we focus on the situation in the sparsely populated northern part, Sápmi, once colonized by the Swedish kingdom. Here, the city of Gällivare was severely affected by the virus. In symbiosis with the state-controlled mining industry, the community had a steady national and international inflow of mining-related personnel which resulted in one of the highest infection rates per capita nationally.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Sociologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Sociology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Sweden

Covid-19

Mining

Postcolonialism

Gällivare

Open society

Sociologi

Sociology

Kulturgeografi

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kap (subject category)