This chapter elaborates on the different strategies of some of the main actors in the Breivik trial, particularly the defendant and his defence team, and the Attorney General and the prosecution’s team.
The main sources are Breivik’s compendium 2083: A European Declaration of Independence, an accurate word-for-word transcript of the court proceedings, the sentence handed down on 24 August 2012, as well as selected literature and media sources.
The authors were also present in court during parts of the trial, conducted a survey amongst the population in- and outside the courtroom regarding their perception of the trial and the strategies of the actors involved and interviewed the main actors (but not Breivik himself).
One of the authors of this chapter (Tore Bjørgo) also appeared as an expert witness in court.
This chapter is published in Beatrice de Graaf & Alex P. Schmid (2016). Terrorists on Trial: A Performative Perspective. Leiden: Leiden University Press (pp. 457-502).