5. Unacceptable Consumption: Conflicts of Refugee Consumption in a Nordic Welfare State

This chapter analyzes the relational conflicts that emerged between locals in Finland and the newly arrived Middle Eastern refugee consumers in the wake of the 2015 peak year of refugee arrivals in the Nordic countries. Based on a relational configuration analysis of indigenous responses to immigrant acculturation (Luedicke, M. K., Journal of Consumer Research 42:109–129, 2015), the chapter builds on the idea that the responses to refugee consumption stem from feelings of community erosion, challenged authority positions, expectations of equality matching, and micro–macro-level moral dilemmas. The phenomenon is illustrated empirically by analyzing online discussion forum threads regarding refugee consumption in Finland. The analysis indicates that some relational tensions in the marketplace between refugees and locals are emphasized in the Nordic welfare state context. The chapter also suggests a new type of conflict, mistrust in the fairness of the welfare system, which becomes evident in the Nordic setting. The study deepens our understanding of the reasons for social conflict in a consumer context. The chapter suggests that the relational conflicts that emerged in the aftermath of the 2015 events in Finland have roots in the very foundations of the Nordic welfare model, as well as in the rising distrust in traditional state institutions.