DOCSLIB.ORG

On Radicalism a Study of Political Methods in the Shadow Land Between Activism and Terrorism

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
On Radicalism a Study of Political Methods in the Shadow Land Between Activism and Terrorism On Radicalism A Study of Political Methods in the Shadow Land between Activism and Terrorism Sophie Sjöqvist Uppsala University Political Science Bachelorettes thesis 2014 Instructor: Katarina Barrling LIST OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: ON RADICALISM 4 METHODOLOGY 8 THE SELECTION OF ORGANISATIONS AND INFORMANTS 8 THE INTERVIEWS 12 THE ANALYTICAL PROCESS 12 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY 12 ANALYSIS OF FOUR ACCOUNTS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION 13 ANTIFASCISTISK AKTION VÄST 13 ALLT ÅT ALLA UPPSALA 16 NORDISK UNGDOM 18 SVENSKA MOTSTÅNDSRÖRELSEN SUMMARY 22 CONCLUSION 22 REFERENCES 24 APPENDIX 26 2 Introduction If the spectrum of political extra-parliamentary groups is vast, the range of their methods of participating in political life is even vaster. The span of the activities and practices used reaches from peaceful undertakings, like pamphlet distribution and poster placarding, to warlike deeds such as the killing of clueless civilians. The common factor of these acts is that they are all executed to reach political goals. Aside from that, the dissimilarity is immeasurable. In the attempt to describe political methods of participation among such groups, it is therefore useful to create a categorisation to give us a better general understanding of this vast landscape. Conventionally, a line has been drawn between legal and illegal methods of participation to do so, where the usage of illegal methods, and especially violence, often have been stamped directly as terrorism. However, this way of categorizing methods of activism can be quite an obtuse instrument to use, especially when attempting to understand groups using illegal methods. A more delicate tool is needed to enhance the understanding of such groups. The aim of this paper is to show that there is an important distinction between political radicalism and the previously more salient categories of political activism: activism and terrorism. More precisely, the question asked is the following: Is there any support for the need of radicalism as a way of classifying political activist groups? The distinction has not been entirely clear in previous research on political participation among activist groups, and this study intends to show why the distinction is vital to attain a more nuanced perception of the field. It means to do so through analysing methods of political participation among Swedish extra-parliamentary groups with revolutionary agendas. The result will show a deficiency in the way political actions has so far been defined, and suggest a stronger emphasis on radicalism as its own subcategory to political participation in the future. This study is partitioned into two different main sections: the first one provides a theoretical framework for the research field of political participation and a background to the concept of radicalism. It also presents a classification of political methods that aims to show the importance of radicalism as a subcategory of political participation of its own. Already at this point, it should be alleged that this classification is very much based upon previous research and that this study’s aim is to clarify the importance of properly making this distinction. In the second section, an analysis of the interview material will be performed, to show that there is a proper empirical foundation for distinguishing radicalism* as its own subcategory parted from activism and terrorism. In between the two, the methodology used will be discussed. * To clarify, all of the groups interviewed are radical in the sense that they have what is usually called radical opinions, meaning their opinions are extreme relatively to mainstream political views. However, the opinions are not the goal of this categorization. Rather, what we hope to achieve here is a classification of the practical methods of the groups, to be able to determine radicalism as an important sub category of political actions (and not thought and opinions). 3 Theoretical framework: On radicalism The field of research on which this study is based and wishes to build on, is that of political participation. Because of the vastness of this area of study, it is unrealistic to give a full description of the diverse means and methods that have been created to understand the different modes of such participation. Rather, this section means to give a critical account of the background to the type of political participation relevant for this paper, namely the more active, or if so preferred, aggressive forms of political participation often seen among extra-parliamentary groups. There is no conclusive definition of what constitutes political participation. Traditionally, it has been seen as the usage of more conventional methods, such as becoming a member of a political party or signing a petition, to affect the rule of a state. Verba and Nie (1972) argues that political participation refers to those activities by private citizens that are more or less directly aimed at influencing the selection of governmental personnel and/or the actions they take. This type of definition is common still at present day. Riley (2010) defines it as a set of rights and duties that involve formally organized civic and political activities (i.e. voting, or joining a political party). Definitions such as these largely exclude more extravagant forms of activism, as well as participation that are not aimed directly at affecting the government. Thus, such definitions largely reject the kind of participation pertinent for this study, namely extra- parliamentary political action. However, there are more comprehensive definitions as well. A common way of including more “extreme” methods of participation is to separate legal and illegal behaviour. Muller (1981) differentiates democratic participation, which is defined as conventional methods (voting, contacting politicians) and unconventional methods (boycotts and demonstrations) of legal political activities in democracies, to aggressive participation, defined as civil disobedience and political violence. The concept relevant for this study, namely that of political activism (which in it self is a sub category to political participation), lies somewhere in-between these two categories. Groups that call themselves activists often perform activities that could be categorized under both of these categories, and therefore the line between them can be quite blurred. Let us illustrate this with an example. A common method used by activist groups is to demonstrate. During such demonstrations, acts of civilian disobedience are not unusual. In fact, many demonstrations are in themselves acts of civilian disobedience. To illustrate even further: the 1 of may 2014, Christian activists demonstrated against the etno-nationalistic group Svenskarnas Parti (the Party of the Swedish) through sitting down in the middle of the, by Swedish authorities pre-determined, marked-out route for Svenskarnas Parti. When the police told them to move, they refused and eventually they were dragged of the road and later convicted. This was a demonstration, but also an act of civilian disobedience. The point being made is that it is possible to problematize Muller’s dichotomous definition of political participation, through a closer investigation of methods used by extra-parliamentary activist groups. To clarify, since many extra- parliamentary groups acts somewhere in-between Muller’s two categories, it is useful to 4 further explore whether new categorizations can be made to achieve a better understanding of them. Muller’s categorisation is not sufficient to do so. A definition that better captures activist behaviour is Corning and Myer’s (2002) definition of activism as a range of behaviours spanning from low risk, passive and institutionalized acts to high- risk, active and unconventional behaviours. It shows the vide range of methods that can be used by the same group but still be called activist. However, the aim of this paper is to show the need of an even more nuanced classification of such methods, namely to make a distinction between activism, radicalism and terrorism. To find research previously conducted on radicalism as its own concept has proven quite difficult, since it often has been hidden within the notions of activisms (see Corning and Myers; 2002) and terrorism (Futrell & Brents, 2003; Gunning, 2004). The actual word radicalism has very rarely been used within the field of political activism. Instead, when classifying groups, the distinction seems to have been lying between activism and terrorism. That is, what this paper argues to be characteristics of radicalism has been defined as characteristics of both activism and terrorism. However, by only using the notions of activism as opposed to terrorism to describe the landscape of political activism among extra-parliamentary groups, an important middle stage in which much of the extra-parliamentary action takes place is likely to be missed. To clarify further; within the research field of political activism, certain common subcategories can be distinguished. Traditionally these seem to have been activism and terrorism. This paper argues that radicalism also should be a subcategory of its own, making the scale looking like this: activism – radicalism – terrorism. In doing this, a more nuanced image of political activism can be attained. Moskalenko and McCauley (2009) have conducted one of the few studies in which radicalism has been included as its own concept. They argue there is an important difference between activism
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Libertarian Marxism Mao-Spontex Open Marxism Popular Assembly Sovereign Citizen Movement Spontaneism Sui Iuris
    Autonomist Marxist Theory and Practice in the Current Crisis Brian Marks1 University of Arizona School of Geography and Development [email protected] Abstract Autonomist Marxism is a political tendency premised on the autonomy of the proletariat. Working class autonomy is manifested in the self-activity of the working class independent of formal organizations and representations, the multiplicity of forms that struggles take, and the role of class composition in shaping the overall balance of power in capitalist societies, not least in the relationship of class struggles to the character of capitalist crises. Class composition analysis is applied here to narrate the recent history of capitalism leading up to the current crisis, giving particular attention to China and the United States. A global wave of struggles in the mid-2000s was constituitive of the kinds of working class responses to the crisis that unfolded in 2008-10. The circulation of those struggles and resultant trends of recomposition and/or decomposition are argued to be important factors in the balance of political forces across the varied geography of the present crisis. The whirlwind of crises and the autonomist perspective The whirlwind of crises (Marks, 2010) that swept the world in 2008, financial panic upon food crisis upon energy shock upon inflationary spiral, receded temporarily only to surge forward again, leaving us in a turbulent world, full of possibility and peril. Is this the end of Neoliberalism or its retrenchment? A new 1 Published under the Creative Commons licence: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works Autonomist Marxist Theory and Practice in the Current Crisis 468 New Deal or a new Great Depression? The end of American hegemony or the rise of an “imperialism with Chinese characteristics?” Or all of those at once? This paper brings the political tendency known as autonomist Marxism (H.
    [Show full text]
  • POLITICAL EXTREMISM in DENMARK - a Pre-Investigation for Mapping of Right-Wing and Left-Wing Extremism
    Roskilde University Politisk ekstremisme i Danmark Larsen, Chris Holmsted Publication date: 2012 Document Version Også kaldet Forlagets PDF Citation for published version (APA): Larsen, C. H. (2012). Politisk ekstremisme i Danmark. Roskilde Universitet. http://sm.dk/nyheder/2012/nye- rapporter-om-ekstremisme-i-danmark-08-05-2012 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain. • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 24. Sep. 2021 POLITICAL EXTREMISM IN DENMARK - A pre-investigation for mapping of right-wing and left-wing extremism By Chris Holmsted Larsen, M.Phil, PhD Fellow DepartmentSocial- og Integrationsministerietof Culture and Identity RoskildeHolmens University Kanal 22 1060 København K Tlf. 33 92 93 00 [email protected] www.sm.dk COLOPHON By Chris Holmsted Larsen, M.Phil, PhD Fellow Department of Culture and Identity, Roskilde University For the Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration April 2012 ISBN: 978-87-7546-404-3 By: Chris Holmsted Larsen, Roskilde University 1 CONTENTS BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Pro-Violence and Anti-Democratic
    Foreword The standard media image of violent extremism may seem to be far from the ordinary work of the Swedish Media Council. While extremism is often described in dramatic terms of terrorism, attacks and riots, the Council’s work concerns more everyday things, such as age limits for cinema films and media awareness teaching in pre-school. But no person is born to be a perpetrator of violence for political or religious purposes. Being recruited to and radicalised within the framework of pro- violence and anti-democratic extremist groups is a question of adopting, more or less uncritically, an image of the world where hate is the driving force and violence the legitimate means. In today’s information society, the Internet has become, to an ever increasing extent, the tool for spreading anti-democratic messages for the purpose of recruiting new members. This fact places great demands on people young and old to retain a critical view of information and sometime sharply angled messages that we come across in both traditional and digital media. In October 2011, the Government mandated the Swedish Media Council to describe the presence of anti-democratic messages on the Internet and in social media. The focus is on messages aimed at young persons, and that encourage violence for political or ideological reasons. The aim is to create broader knowledge about extremist Internet milieux, their content, and how recruitment strategies are formulated and communicated. The overall purpose is to strengthen young persons in preparation for encounters with such messages. To carry out the work, the Swedish Media Council has employed three researchers, each of whom has contributed one constituent study about three different extremist Internet milieux.
    [Show full text]
  • Download WP-2012-097-Ramalingam Anti
    Centre on Migration, Policy and Society Working Paper No. 97 University of Oxford, 2012 The Sweden Democrats: Anti-Immigration Politics under the Stigma of Racism Vidhya Ramalingam WP-12-97 COMPAS does not have a centre view and does not aim to present one. The views expressed in this document are only those of its independent author Abstract The 2010 Swedish general election marked a critical moment in Swedish politics, as the Sweden Democrats (SD), the country’s leading anti-immigration party, gained representation in Parliament. This was achieved despite decades of systematic marginalisation and stigmatisation of the party by mainstream politicians, civil society and the media due to its historical ties to neo-Nazi and white supremacist subcultures. Scholars of the anti-immigration radical right have long understood stigmatisation to be a key obstacle to these parties’ political success; however, they tend not to elucidate the contents of stigma against the radical right and the experiences of these parties under stigma. This paper explores the construction of social stigma against SD and examines the conceptual boundaries of the term ‘racism’ in the Swedish national imaginary. Based on in-depth interviews, participant observation, and print media analysis, this paper furthermore investigates how experiences of social stigma shape the strategies and goals of the Swedish radical right. SD’s party strategy is approached through the lenses of popular conceptions of the ‘norm’ and the ‘deviant’ in Swedish society, concepts which are central in anthropological and sociological inquiries into stigma, but have been absent in literature on radical right politics. This work illustrates the processes through which anti-immigration radical right parties can, in spite of stigmatisation, negotiate the normality and morality of their politics in attempts to reduce the impact of their historical deviance and to bring their ideologies closer to the mainstream.
    [Show full text]
  • Sweden Ends Here? Social Movement Scenes and the Right to the City
    SWEDEN ENDS HERE? SOCIAL MOVEMENT SCENES AND THE RIGHT TO THE CITY by Kimberly A. Creasap Bachelor of Arts, Bowling Green State University, 2001 Master of Liberal Studies, Eastern Michigan University, 2005 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2014 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH KENNETH P. DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Kimberly A. Creasap It was defended on June 12, 2014 and approved by Annulla Linders, Associate Professor, Sociology, University of Cincinnati John Markoff, Distinguished University Professor, Sociology Suzanne Staggenborg, Professor, Sociology Dissertation Advisor: Kathleen Blee, Distinguished Professor, Sociology ii Copyright © by Kimberly A. Creasap 2014 iii SWEDEN ENDS HERE? SOCIAL MOVEMENT SCENES AND THE RIGHT TO THE CITY Kimberly A. Creasap, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2014 This study examines social movement scenes—dynamic constellations of people and places— created by Swedish autonomous movements. Social movement scenes shape action, interpersonal dynamics among activists, and how activists see possibilities for social change. Autonomous movements reject representative democracy as a form of authority and, by extension, reject state institutions. This represents a radical departure from strict norms that characterize political and public life in Sweden in which political participation generally takes the form of party membership and/or activity with trade unions with strong ties to the state. Through ethnographic observation, in-depth interviews and analysis of artifacts such as newspapers, zines, flyers, and manifestos, I examine how and why Swedish autonomous social movements use “the Right to the City” as an organizing principle to create scenes as alternative forms of urban life in Stockholm, Göteborg, and Malmö.
    [Show full text]
  • En Gryende Fascism
    1 Vi storknar. Varje vecka en ny om det inte var för att den flyt­ reaktiv och bara svara på deras framgång är att skapa en ny uni­ kulturdebatt. Alla ska ta ställ­ tar hela den politiska debatten provokationer. Utan måste bli versell politik, där våra olik heter ning. Alla ska twittra. Vi drunk­ åt höger, rycker bort den från en aktiv, måste ta formen av en egen blir en styrka och förbinds i nar i åsikter. Och med debat­ socioekonomisk diskussion och politik, egen social organisering gemensamma projekt snarare än terna kommer metadebatterna. styr över den på en kulturell­ och att ge egna svar på den oro en erkännandets och representa­ Om ”kulturvänstern” som har moralisk. Den skulle inte heller som alla känner i samhället tionens politik. Det handlar om tagit universitet och tidningsre­ vara så oroväckande om den inte idag. Vi måste bemöta fascismen en kamp om samhällsekonomin daktioner till sin bastion. Varför bildade ett block med en reaktio­ som det dubbla hotet, fysiskt ­ men den kampen är i grund är kulturdebatten så viktig för när högermobilisering på gator­ och politiskt. Det politiska sva­ och botten alltid materiell, inte högern idag? Kanske är det för na. I krisens kölvatten framstår ret är att bedriva en intressan­ enbart kulturell. att det är det enda forum där de fascismen återigen som ett alter­ tare klasspolitik, som klarar av kan vara populister: de har redan nativ. Och som ett dubbelt hot att samman föra gemen samma den ekonomiska och politiska för vänstern: dels ett fysiskt hot intressen, oavsett arbetar­ makten. Men i kulturdebat­ mot oss, våra lokaler, vår möj­ klassens kön, hudfärg eller Bild: Anton Ingvarsson ten kan de utmåla en bild av sig lighet att mötas och organisera.
    [Show full text]
  • Politisk Ekstremiske I Danmark
    Roskilde University Politisk ekstremisme i Danmark Larsen, Chris Holmsted Publication date: 2012 Document Version Også kaldet Forlagets PDF Citation for published version (APA): Larsen, C. H. (2012). Politisk ekstremisme i Danmark. Roskilde Universitet. http://sm.dk/nyheder/2012/nye- rapporter-om-ekstremisme-i-danmark-08-05-2012 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain. • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 26. Sep. 2021 POLITISK EKSTREMISME I DANMARK Af mag. art. Chris Holmsted Larsen, Ph.d.-studerende Institut for Kultur og Identitet Roskilde Universitet KOLOFON Af Mag. art. Chris Holmsted Larsen, Ph.d. – stud. Institut for Kultur og Identitet, Roskilde Universitet For Social- og Integrationsministeriet April 2012 ISBN: 978-87-995330-0-8 INDHOLD Baggrund ....................................................................................................................................1
    [Show full text]
  • “Left, Right Or Something Else, It Doesn't Matter To
    Lund Univeristy SIMV07 Sociology Department Spring 2018 Supervisor: Bo Isenberg “Left, right or something else, it doesn’t matter to me” A study of master strategies, impression management, argumentative fallacies and substantiations in alt-right and alt-left discussions online Mimmi Thor Abstract This study treats argumentative behaviours, argumentative fallacies, impression management efforts, argument substantiations and master strategies in comments in the Facebook group Det fria ordet. The objective is to create a deeper understanding of how the discussions on the alt- left and -right in an online setting are carried out. This could facilitate meeting individuals’ argumentative behaviours and strategies, further enabling constructive discussions. The method chosen is argumentation analysis and the theoretical framework consists of Simmel’s (1971) social types, Goffman’s (2004) theory on impression management, argumentative fallacies according to Björnsson et al. (2009) and Ås’ (1980) master strategies. From these, ideal types, in accordance with Weber’s (1962) analytical tool, are constructed. The ideal type the Lonely know-it-all is characterised by pragmatism, fact appreciation, the master strategy ridiculing and an outside position. The Limitless Victor and Mastering Artist aim is to win the discussions, create disputes for the disputes’ sake and the use of the argumentum ad hominem fallacy. The Limitless Victor uses harsh language and the Mastering Artist refined language. The Peaceful Historian presents a peaceful self, substantiates argumentations with historical events and moves the responsibility for them arbitrary onto dissidents. The theories maintain relevant, however, Simmel’s (1971) social types need to be widened and adapted to be applicable onto some of the particularities of the online context.
    [Show full text]
  • Politische Studien443
    POLITISCHE STUDIEN 443 Orientierung durch Information und Dialog 63. Jahrgang | Mai-Juni 2012 | ISSN 0032-3462 | € 4,50 /// IM FOKUS NEUE DIMENSIONEN DES RECHTSEXTREMISMUS Mit Beiträgen von Uwe Backes | Eckhard Jesse | Wilhelm Schmidbauer | Hans-Peter Uhl | Jörg Ziercke /// SUSANNE SCHMID Antworten auf den demographischen Wandel /// HEINRICH KREFT Afrika und Deutschland /// SIEGFRIED SCHNEIDER Die Zukunft der Medienregulierung www.hss.de EDITORIAL Um die deutsch-französische Zusammenarbeit „muss selbstverständlich stets GERUNGEN werden. frankreich 2012 – WAHL DES STAATSPRÄSIDENTEN Das Ausmaß des Sieges von François Hollande und der Niederlage von Nico- las Sarkozy im zweiten Durchgang der Wahlen zum französischen Staatsprä- sidenten am 6. Mai 2012 entsprach ziemlich genau den vorher kolportierten Prognosen – was keine Selbstverständlichkeit ist. Die Analyse, warum es so gekommen ist, hat, über die mitwirkenden persönlichen Faktoren hinaus, ihre Bedeutung für die Feststellung von Rahmenbedingungen französischer Innenpolitik. Aber da Frankreich in Europa und in der Weltpolitik immer noch ein äußerst selbstbewusster Akteur ist, wird nun jenseits der Grenzen des „Hexagon“ die Frage aktuell, wieviel an Wandel in der Außenpolitik der Wechsel des Hausherren im Elysée-Palast mit sich bringen mag. Von offiziel- ler deutscher Seite ist man bestrebt, eine Kontinuität zu unterstellen, denn die deutsch-französische Zusammenarbeit sei schon hinreichend kompromisser- probt. Das dürften die typisch staatswirtschaftlich-sozialistischen Akzente im Wahlkampfprogramm von François Hollande nicht vergessen machen. Die Situation, dass dabei Berlin den Stabilitätspakt als nicht weiter ver- handelbar ansieht, einem hinzuzufügenden „Wachstumspakt“ aber nicht widersprechen würde, bietet hinreichend viele Möglichkeiten zur Kontrover- se, zumal Hollande seiner teilweise linksradikal ausgerichteten Klientel ver- pflichtet bleibt, sein Verhandlungsspielraum also nicht beliebig groß ist.
    [Show full text]
  • Program Mot Våldsbejakande Extremism
    Sida Program 1(24) Datum 2017-01-11 Robert Hagström [email protected] Program mot våldsbejakande extremism Beslutat av : Kommunfullmäktige i Vårgårda kommun Beslutsdatum: 2017-01-11 Dokumentägare: Kultur och Fritid Dokumentet gäller för: Samtliga politiska instanser och kommunförvaltningen Dokumentet gäller till och med: 2019-12-31 Diarienummer: 2016-000434 Reviderad: Postadress: 447 80 Vårgårda ● Besöksadress: Kungsgatan 45 Vx: 0322-60 06 00 ● Fax: 0322-60 09 60 ● Org.nr: 212000-1454 E-post: [email protected] ● Hemsida: www.vargarda.se Datum Sida Vårgårda kommun 2017-01-11 2(24) Innehåll 1 Inledning............................................................................3 1.1 Bakgrund...........................................................................................3 1.2 Syfte..................................................................................................3 1.3 Mål.....................................................................................................4 1.3.1 Övergripande mål..............................................................................4 1.3.2 Måluppfyllelse....................................................................................4 2 Framgångsfaktorer...........................................................5 2.1 Samverkan och samordning..............................................................5 2.2 Var uppdaterad på situationen i kommunen......................................5 2.3 Samverkan med andra aktörer..........................................................5
    [Show full text]
  • Inställningar Till Våld Inom Den Radikalnationalistiska Sociala Rörelsen I Sverige
    Inställningar till våld inom den radikalnationalistiska sociala rörelsen i Sverige Av: Sofia Beskow Handledare: Magnus Wennerhag Examinator: Paul Fuehrer Södertörns Högskola | Institutionen för Samhällsvetenskaper Magisteruppsats 30 hp | Höstterminen 2018 Sociologi Sammanfattning ”Inställningar till våld inom den radikalnationalistiska sociala rörelsen i Sverige” av Sofia Beskow Denna studie presenterar en empiriskt välgrundad bild av inställningar till våld i radikalnationalistiska rörelser samt av hur dessa (re)konstrueras och upprätthålls inom organisationer. Studien utgörs av en hermeneutisk inramningsanalys av texter, artiklar, podcasts, radioprogram och dokumentärer av och om radikalnationalistiska aktörer. Studiens resultat visar en inom radikalnationalismen gemensam världsbild av att ”det egna folket” (den vita rasen / den västerländska identiteten) är hotat av en flyktinginvasion och att staten är ovillig eller inkapabel att skydda detta folk. I detta upplevda katastrofala läge anser sig radikalnationalisterna skyldiga att skydda folket i statens ställe. Våld ses inte som ett självändamål, men däremot som ett naturligt medel i kampen för folkets överlevnad, vilket man inte tar avstånd från om det anses nödvändigt. Den radikalnationalistiska rörelsen anser sig vara utsatta såväl fysiskt som politiskt av systemet och av meningsmotståndare, vilket enligt deras resonemang gör det nödvändigt att ibland använda sig av nödvärnsvåld. Organisationernas officiella riktlinjer uppmuntrar nödvärnsvåld i syfte att skydda sig själv, sina kamrater
    [Show full text]
  • Rättfärdigandet Av Civilt Olydiga Handlingar
    Rättfärdigandet av civilt olydiga handlingar En studie av Antifascistisk Aktions och Revolutionära Frontens arbete i Sverige Alicia López Åkerblom Kandidatuppsats i Mänskliga Rättigheter Lunds universitet, HT – 2012 Handledare: Andreas Tullberg 1 Abstract By studying various theories about civil disobedience, five requirements have been developed for civil disobedience to be considered legitimate. The purpose with this paper is to see if the two networks Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) and the Revolutionary Front (RF) lives up to these criteria and therefore are legitimate in their actions. The study is done with ideology analysis of AFA:s and RF:s own websites and material, to better understand their ideology and point of view. Choosing AFA and RF was based on the fact that they are among the largest autonomous networks in Sweden and they fight against racism, fascism and other forms of oppression. The networks manage to live up to the majority of the criteria being presented in the study, which would mean that the theories used in this paper would justify the networks’ civil disobedience. The study also concluded that there are two subjects that also could be considered as two additional criteria, but because of the scholars disagreement in these areas they are in this paper seen as only possible criteria. These two criteria include the idea of violence and the thought that civil disobedience only can be justified in a fundamentally unfair and undemocratic state. This raises interesting questions and thoughts about civil disobedience in the West and provides an insight into how some might think that civil disobedience actions are important and even necessary to improve a society - even a democratic one.
    [Show full text]