Opinion corridor (Swedish:åsiktskorridor,Norwegian:meningskorridor) refers to a sociopolitical phenomenon that has been observed during the beginning of the 21st century inSweden, and to some extent also inNorway. The expression itself was originally used in 2013 byHenrik Oscarsson [sv], professor ofpolitical science at theUniversity of Gothenburg, as ametaphor for the limits of what is commonly acceptable to debate.[1][2]
The concept is similar to theOverton window, which assumes a sliding scale of legitimate political conversation, and toHallin's spheres, which assumes that the press implicitly groups issues into questions of wide consensus, legitimate controversy, and deviance. TheSwedish Language Council has included the wordåsiktskorridor in its 2014 list ofneologisms.[1]
In December 2013, political scientistHenrik Oscarsson [sv] described how he perceived that the space forfreedom of opinion had been tightened in Swedish debates. He provided some examples of opinions that were rarely expressed despite being common throughout the population:[3]
Oscarsson concluded with calling for "a more moderate and respectful attitude from policymakers".[3]
In February 2015,Expressen editorAnn-Charlotte Marteus [sv] published an apology for being part of "constructing a corridor that prevented a constructive debate about migration and integration". She wrote that it was something that she started doing around 2002, when language tests were being debated and theSweden Democrats started to become more influential. She was also afraid that Sweden's political climate would become more similar to that ofDenmark.[4]
Sweden didn't become like Denmark, thank goodness. Maybe the opinion corridor helped. But the price was too high: widespreadself-censorship, a fear to examine reality objectively, a diminished belief in the power of arguments. And as a result a dumbed-down public, moral-panicked politicians and social problems that should have gotten attention and been dealt with a long time ago. It proved to be an expensive corridor.
Erik Helmersson fromDagens Nyheter wrote that Sweden has many opinion corridors in which people rarely question the norms within the group. He blames the Swedish "culture of consensus" and says the social cost for presenting an opposing view is too high. He also praises director Stina Oscarson for her new expression "test speech" and states that it's important to allow people to try new ways of thinking without being smothered by blame and insults.[5]
Alice Teodorescu has stated that she wants to "tear down the opinion corridor" and has made comparisons with totalitarian systems.[6]
We live in a time where it's considered brave to think freely, despite the fact that it's not forbidden.
— Alice Teodorescu,Göteborgs-Posten, 6 March 2015[6]
During the first quarter of 2015, the statistical instituteDemoskop [sv] conducted a survey named "Who dares to speak about their opinions?" which had a sample size of 4,348. They observed the following trends:[7]
Council politician Per Altenberg of theLiberals party, while not addressing the research by professor Oscarsson, denied the existence of the opinion corridor and maintained that the corridor should not be discussed in his opinion piece entitled "There is no opinion corridor".[8]
Let's get rid of the opinion corridor and end this whole debate that there are things you can't say in Sweden.
— Per Altenberg,Svenska Dagbladet, 24 May 2015[8]
Columnist Malin Ullgren fromDagens Nyheter, while not addressing the research by professor Oscarsson, condemns the usage of the term, and describes it as a rhetorical device thefar right uses to undermine the stability of society. She states that right-wing extremists have spent years on "systematic erosion of the limits of decency" to further their agendas and that the far right freely express their agendas.[9]
Contributing to delusions about opinion corridors or "cover-up of truth by the elite" is to actively undermine democracy.
— Malin Ullgren,Dagens Nyheter, 3 February 2016[9]