Master thesis in Sustainable Development 2020/33 Examensarbete i Hållbar utveckling Youth’s attitudes towards extreme right-wing organisations - A study on social sustainability within the Swedish democracy Elena Alvarez Blomgren DEPARTMENT OF EARTH SCIENCES INSTITUTIONEN FÖR GEOVETENSKAPER Master thesis in Sustainable Development 2020/33 Examensarbete i Hållbar utveckling Youth’s attitudes towards extreme right-wing organisations - A study on social sustainability within the Swedish democracy Elena Alvarez Blomgren Supervisor: Mikael Berg Subject Reviewer: Maria Deldén Copyright © Elena Alvarez Blomgren and the Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University Published at Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University (www.geo.uu.se), Uppsala, 2020 Table of content Table of content ....................................................................................................................................... 2 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 4 Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 5 Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................................... 6 Key concepts ........................................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 9 1.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Aim .................................................................................................................................................. 10 1.3 Research questions .......................................................................................................................... 10 1.4 Case selection and limitations ......................................................................................................... 10 1.5 Disposition ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................................................... 12 2.1 Current situation in Sweden ............................................................................................................ 12 2.1.1 International judicial frameworks ........................................................................................ 12 2.1.2 Sweden's national action plan against violent extremism .................................................... 12 2.1.3 Sweden's national action plan against racism and similar forms of hostility and hate crimes ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 2.1.4 Sweden’s history of right-wing organisations ...................................................................... 14 2.1.5 NMR ..................................................................................................................................... 15 2.1.6 Children and youth in extreme right-wing environment ...................................................... 16 2.2 Prior research ................................................................................................................................... 17 2.2.1 SOU 2012:74 Xenophobia .................................................................................................. 17 2.2.2 Time for tolerance ............................................................................................................... 18 2.2.3 Democracy and violence ...................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................................... 21 3.1 Theoretical framework .................................................................................................................... 21 3.2 Democracies challenges with extremism ........................................................................................ 21 3.3 Sustainable development and social sustainability ......................................................................... 22 3.4 Applied theory ................................................................................................................................. 23 2 3.4.1 Social coherence ................................................................................................................... 23 3.4.2 Right-wing extremism and terrorism within democratic boundaries ideal model ............... 24 3.5 Criticism of theory .......................................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 4 ............................................................................................................................................... 28 4.1 Method ........................................................................................................................................... 28 4.2 Design of the study .......................................................................................................................... 28 4.2.1 Ethical considerations .......................................................................................................... 29 4.3 Survey and semi-structured interviews ........................................................................................... 30 Chapter 5 ............................................................................................................................................... 32 5.1 Results ............................................................................................................................................. 32 5.2 Youth’s perception of extreme right-wing organisations presence and contact attempts ............... 32 5.3 Youth’s perception on how the local society including authorities are responding towards extreme right-wing organisations. ....................................................................................................................... 35 5.4 Youth’s perception on extreme right-wing organisations and possibilities for a sustainable social future ..................................................................................................................................................... 41 5.5 Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 6 ............................................................................................................................................... 49 6.1 Discussion ....................................................................................................................................... 49 6.2 Future research ................................................................................................................................ 50 Chapter 7 ............................................................................................................................................... 51 7.Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ 51 Chapter 8 ............................................................................................................................................... 52 8. References ......................................................................................................................................... 52 Appendix A ........................................................................................................................................... 58 3 Youth’s attitudes towards extreme right-wing organisations-A study on social sustainability within the Swedish democracy ELENA A BLOMGREN A Blomgren, E, 2020: Youth’s attitudes towards extreme right-wing organisations, a study on social sustainability within the Swedish Democracy. Master thesis in Sustainable Development at Uppsala University, No. 2020/33, 67 pp, 30 ECTS/hp Abstract: This case study aims to explore the social sustainability in a middle-sized city with extreme-right wing presence. The chosen middle-sized city had the Nordic Resistance Movement, an extreme and violent organisation with Nazi-ideology, in the local government election period 2014-2018. Even though the Nordic Resistance Movement is not in the local government, currently they still have social influence in the city. Schools in the middle-sized city have been under extra pressure due to propaganda on school areas and recruitment efforts. The Swedish government specifically target youth in relation to extremism because youth and children are considered a risk group for all forms of extremism. A selected group of youth, forty in total, in the middle-sized city answered an attitude survey, and four of