- Emilie Farø, Aarhus University: Same violence, but different responses? How the public perceives lone-actor terrorism committed by right-wing versus Islamist extremists
- Sofia Beskow, Södertörn University: Consequences of policiary measures against radical nationalist social movements
- Ingvild Folkvord, NTNU: Aesthetic experimentation vs building of social bonds. Poetic responses to the 22 July terrorist attacks in Norway
Abstracts
Same violence, but different responses? How the public perceives lone-actor terrorism committed by right-wing versus Islamist extremists
Emilie Farø, Aarhus University
Does the public respond differently to lone-actor terrorism depending on the ideological motivation of the perpetrator? Research findings suggest that citizens tend to perceive extreme-right violence less as terrorism than Islamist violence, while also supporting milder treatments of right-wing terrorists compared to Islamist terrorists. Yet, besides the limited efforts to examine this issue, even fewer studies have examined it outside of an American context, focusing on lone-actor terrorism. Furthermore, scholars have neglected to examine the role of perpetrator ideology in a consistent way, calling for stronger evidence of a causal effect. Using experimental methods on a national representative sample in Denmark, this paper explores whether and how members of the public hold different perceptions of right-wing versus Islamist extremist lone-actors guilty of the same crime. Specifically, I measure what citizens believe are the root causes of the violence; how they perceive the perpetrator’s affiliation with a broader social and political environment; what legal punishments they support; as well as what government action they prefer in response to the attack. The findings have implications for scholars and practitioners in better understanding the public’s responses – and potential biases – towards the security threat from different extremist actors.
Consequences of policiary measures against radical nationalist social movements
Sofia Beskow, Södertörn University
Measures against violent extremism have received increasing societal and scientific focus in the last decennia. When designing such measures, there is a need to consider the balance between protecting democratic governances against undemocratic actors, and the freedoms and rights of radical individuals. Although these measures have become more extensive and more complex, the scientific knowledge on the consequences and effects of specific measures is still limited.
In my doctoral project, I wish to expand the knowledge on consequences of measures against radical social movements by investigating how some specific policiary measures affect the radical nationalist (right-wing extremist) movement in Scandinavia. Using a case study design, semi-structured interviews, and sociological social movement theory on state repression, I aim to explore how these policiary measures affect the mobilization, (de)radicalization and action repertoires of the movement.
It is my hope that more knowledge about the consequences of state repression will be beneficial in developing measures against undemocratic movements which are well balanced between democratic protection and the freedoms and rights of individuals.
Aesthetic experimentation vs building of social bonds. Poetic responses to the 22 July terrorist attacks in Norway
Ingvild Folkvord, NTNU
Literature and arts are often framed as social resource in times of crises: If the goal of terrorist attacks is to violently discourage any political dissent and to reinforce unanimous polarization, literature and arts can serve as a means to make multiple voices heard, and thereby contribute to developing further the space for speech and common elaboration further (Erll 2021, Folkvord and Lassègue 2024, Ebner 2019).
The paper investigates this capacity by drawing attention to Endre Ruset's long-poem "Projectile" (2012), perhaps the most radical aesthetic experiment in the entire literature on the July 22 attacks in Norway. The poem presents the massive violence itself as something we must relate to in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. It uses only material from the forensic reports after the Utøya massacre and re-uses it in a powerful literary montage.
Strangely enough, one could think, the poem has received little public attention, and it has also been rewritten, made part of a much ‘milder’ text. On this basis the paper discusses “Projectile” as an example of what literature can do. It shows how Ruset (and contemporary literature and arts in a broader sense) is embedded in discourses that emphasize the freedom to experiment, but also the need to strengthen social bonds in polarized times (Gefen 2023, Kunst 2023).