Entendimento de processos que levem ao surgimento de opiniões extremas é valioso na prevenção de atos de violência. Os modelos são ferramentas úteis para identificar possíveis padrões relacionados a estes processos. No entanto, modelos discretos ou contínuos com confiança limitada não se mostram adequados para estudar dinâmicas caracterizadas pela divergência de opiniões. É proposta uma extensão cultural do modelo de Opiniões Contínuas e Ações Discretas (CODA) com múltiplos assuntos alternados por um mecanismo de ligação preferencial. Os agentes são influenciados não só em suas opiniões, mas também nas importâncias que atribuem aos diferentes assuntos. As principais características do modelo são o surgimento de preferências e consensos locais, aos quais estão associadas as opiniões mais extremas. Há, em contrapartida, persistência de opiniões brandas nos temas menos preferidos. O estudo do espaço paramétrico do modelo revelou que modificações diminuindo a localidade das interações aumentam maiorias e amenizam opiniões. Duas estratégias distintas de debate foram testadas. Zelotes têm poder de conversão aumentado quando dispersos. Evitadores minimizam o número de interações indesejável se agrupados. Foram esboçadas abordagens para inserção de efeitos da mídia na dinâmica / Understanding processes leading to extremism is invaluable to prevent violence outbursts. Models are useful tools that allow for identifying patterns related to those processes. Nevertheless, discrete models and bounded-confidence continuous models are unfit for studying diversion-based dynamics. We present a cultural extension of CODA model, with multiple subjects selected through a preferential attachment rule. Agents are influenced in their opinions and relevance attributed to different subjects. The most notable results of the dynamics are the establishment of local subject preferences and consensus, associated with more extreme opinions. On the other hand, there is persistence of immature undeveloped opinion in the locally less regarded subjects. The study of parametric space has shown that settings reducing the locality of interactions both increase the majority size and make opinions less extreme. Two distinct debate strategies were simulated. Zealots increase conversions when spread throughout the network. In contrast, subject avoiders decrease the number of unwanted interactions by grouping together. Some ideas for introducing media influence to the model were outlined

This paper is a case study of the Sweden Democrats with the aim to better understand the nature of the immigrant-critical nationalist parties, often referred to as right-wing extremist, right-wing populist etc. who has had success in several countries, and their ideological roots. A comparative descriptive analysis has been done of the ideas of the Sweden Democrats' ideology, with the aim to identify and examine the presence of fascism ideas in SD's ideology. On the basis of the existing research has an ideal type been formulated what fascism most basic ideas are. With this idealtype as an analytical tool has SD's party platform, political speeches, SD-kuriren and Jimmie Åkesson's book, etc. been analyzed. It has been possible to demonstrate the similarities and differences between the SD's and fascist ideas. Ideas of SD which is also a typical feature of fascism is the opposition to the conduct of immigration policy and to stop or limit immigration which appears as the party's most prominent idea that is also a typical feature of fascism. The myth of the betrayed people's home “Folkhemmet” appears to be a typical "mystical core" in the SD's thinking which is similar to the example stab-in-the-back legend of Nazism. The idea about the third way and a excluding nationalism that sees diversity as a threat is common within fascism while the differences is that the SD profess democracy and denounces anti-democratic ideas. SD is like the fascists not pacifists but has not, moreover, any typical fascist ideas on the war in its program. The multicultural society is considered a threat, which is similar to the ideas of fascism, and SD considers that a culture war is going on, especially with Islam. SD has some ideas in common with fascism that indicates continuity from the interwar fascism. Other ideas differ from the ideas of fascism, which shows that the party has been partly done up with its ideological roots. The type of thought structures identified in the analysis of the Sweden Democrats have several ideas in common with the fascist discourse, but there are also similarities with the humanist Enlightenment discourse in the affirmation of democracy.

The preoccupation in the past decades with theorizing radicalization in order to prevent violent extremism has left deradicalization undertheorized. As the number of returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) is expected to increase as a result of the anticipated military and intelligence advancement on terrorism, the reintegration imperative stresses the urgency to develop comprehensive reintegration and deradicalization strategies. This study seeks to contribute to filling the research deficit begging for empirical data informed by FTFs’ experiences of, and challenges in, reintegration, through qualitative interviews with returning FTFs in Kwale County, Kenya; a county producing a relative majority of Kenyan recruits to Al Shabaab who are now offered amnesty on return to their county of origin. The Life Psychology framework, which assumes an inherent human strive to obtain a good life, i.e. life embeddedness, is adopted for the analysis. The study finds that returnees commit to reintegration in the absence of other alternatives, due to economic incentives and longing for acceptance. It confirms that the process requires the societal motivation in facilitation, but will fail without the sustained commitment of the returning FTF. The study further establishes that returning FTFs are not able to obtain a flow in life embeddedness, which would indicate inability to reintegrate. Yet, many of the interviewed returning FTFs express the contrary, which challenges the concept of life embeddedness as an indicator for reintegration. The study further challenges the general assumption that deradicalization is a precondition for reintegration, as it finds that radicalized individuals are able to reintegrate into communities of origin without deserting held radical beliefs, if those communities share radical sentiments. This study contributes to filling the deficit in empirical data, which when advanced will work to avert security threats posed by returning FTFs and enable utilizing the potential of the phenomenon to counter violent extremism.

This thesis examines the role of shame and humiliation as root causes of violence. The author focuses on violent far-right and Islamist extremism, but in order to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon, even gang violence and criminality are investigated. Through an ethnographic approach with thick description, the thesis attempts to capture insights, experiences and knowledge in the form of personal narratives of a variety of people – police officers, youths, researchers, psychologists, ex-cons and social workers. The investigation explores shame and humiliation as pivotal factors for violent behaviour. The concept of retributive justice, prevalent in many prisons around the world and in popular understandings of morality, is shown to be counter-productive. This has far-reaching implications for both the penal system and approaches to preventing radicalisation. As an alternative, the author argues for an approach of fostering human dignity as the most effective strategy for the prevention of violence and radicalisation. Inspired by Immanuel Kant’s essay ”Perpetual Peace”, this is called the perpetual dignity approach.

Syftet har varit att synliggöra och analysera inkludering och exkludering inom den svenska hbtq-rörelsen, samt att fördjupa förståelsen för konflikterna inom rörelsen. Genom diskursteoretisk analys av massmedias beskrivning av aktioner under 2012 har följande resultat uppnåtts; inom rörelsen framkommer två diskurser, med olika syn på vilka politiska frågor rörelsen ska fokusera på. Dessa kallas i uppsatsen den endimensionella och den flerdimensionella diskursen. Den endimensionella vill återgå till en mer "klassisk" homokamp, medan den flerdimensionella har ett mer intersektionellt synsätt och vill bredda det politiska spektrumet. Diskurserna har även olika syn på vilka politiska metoder som är mest effektiva samt skiljer sig åt i sitt förhållningssätt till queerbegreppet. Enligt min analys diskuterades vad som beskrevs som en splittring inom rörelsen under denna tidsperiod på ett väldigt specifikt sätt, där begreppet extremism var centralt.

This Master's thesis deals with conspiracy theories and disinformation, a topic received with insufficient attention in the field of international relations. The phenomenon constitutes one of the most distinctive features of the Islamic world; therefore, it has significant importance for the Western foreign policy towards the region. The thesis is divided into four chapters and aims to provide Western countries with a set of foreign-policy recommendations in relation to the phenomenon of conspiracy theories and disinformation in the Islamic world. The thesis does so on the basis of a thorough analysis of the general mechanisms of conspiracy theories (1st chapter), and the specific conditions and circumstances of their emergence and dissemination in the Islamic world (2nd chapter). The study of the case of Aafia Siddiqui (3rd chapter) leads to the conclusion that the implication of conspiracy theories and disinformation in the activities of Islamic extremist groups represents a serious security threat for the Western countries, which the current policy leaves with no adequate response (4th chapter). As an outcome, the thesis proposes ten basic principles which should serve to the Western countries as a guideline for their approach to conspiracy theories and disinformation in the Islamic world. The main import of this thesis lies in it being one of the first attempts with regard to the researched topic to perform a comprehensive analysis with practical outcomes.

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 them answered semi-structured interviews to give a deeper understanding of the survey answers. The results from the survey and interviews show that the youth had strong opinions on the presence of the Nordic Resistance Movement in their hometown. A majority of the youth perceived that Nordic Resistance Movement was present and made contact attempts in town, on social media and with graffiti and pamphlets. Furthermore, the youth responded that they wanted harder actions towards extreme-right wing organisations from the school, media, police and the justice system. Finally, the youth answered that adults around them could be both with and against the Nordic Resistance Movement, the same with the respondents themselves, indicating a polarised civil society. As for the future, the youth answered that they believe that the Nordic Resistance Movement will increase in the future, and they wanted harder regulations from the government to hinder an increase of the Nordic Resistance Movement. The social sustainability in the middle-sized city is not lost according to the youths, it can be sustainable with the help of governmental support.

In response to the conflict in eastern Ukraine that began in April 2014, thousands of Ukrainians voluntarily enrolled to various paramilitary battalions. Except the Right Sector’s Volunteer Ukrainian Corps, all battalions have been incorporated into official defense and security structures. This study investigates why some combatants choose to serve in the paramilitary Right Sector’s Volunteer Ukrainian Corps rather than join the state-sanctioned military, and specifically how this choice is influenced by uncertainty. This multisite case study is conducted with volunteer fighters in the regions of Odesa and Donetsk, using data collected through interviews, observations and through the review of documents. The study applies uncertainty-identity theory, which explores how uncertainty in an individual’s own life, or their environment can prompt them to seek structure through belonging to a group or ascribing to an ideology. This theory is applied to understand how participants’ identification with the paramilitary Volunteer Ukrainian Corps might influence their feelings of self-uncertainty. The data led to six themes: Russian aggression; patriots and opportunists; enemies among us; trust, confidence and cohesion; sworn brothers; and construction of uncertainty. These themes help to understand the motivations of participants, but also how uncertainty is constructed through the membership in the Right Sector’ s Volunteer Ukrainian Corps. The findings of this study give a holistic account about participants’ feelings of self-uncertainty through their multifaceted and complex experiences. Analysis of the data revealed that the clear group prototype and the high entitativity of the Right Sector’s Volunteer Ukrainian Corps increased participants’ self-confidence, which inspired their continued identification with the group.

With the increase and popularity of the use of internet, hate speech has reached wider dimensions in societies. This thesis will provide empirical examples to show the relation between speech and actions. This paper will use speech-act theory and social movement theory to portray the relation between hate speech on social media and domestic terrorism inspired by far right extremist. Even though, there has been a lot of work for counter terrorism, domestic terrorism is still overlooked. Empirical sources say that domestic terrorism poses a threat as much as international terrorism. This thesis will bring light over the connections of hate speech and domestic terrorism inspired by far right extremists. It will conclude that there is an evident relation that hate speech on social media is contributing to domestic terrorism actions encouraged by far right extremism.

Au cours des dernières années, les groupes d’extrême droite ont gagné une visibilité grandissante dans l’espace public au Canada comme ailleurs. Alors que chercheurs comme journalistes tentent de mieux comprendre cette mouvance diverse et évolutive, la littérature scientifique disponible demeure avant tout axé sur les groupes et les tendances plus que les mécanismes et les trajectoires individuelles. Ainsi peu de recherches sont venues s’intéresser aux processus dynamiques qui amènent les individus à rejoindre ou à quitter ces groupes. La présente recherche appréhende les trajectoires de désengagement de treize anciens membres de groupes extrémistes de droite canadiens et met en lumière leur point de vue sur ce vécu. À partir d’une méthodologie de récits de vie, nous mettons en perspective l’engagement et le désengagement de ces individus hors de différents groupes d’extrême droite et explorons le rôle du soutien social dans leurs parcours. Alors que les chercheurs tentent de comprendre le désengagement de l’extrémisme en puisant dans les connaissances sur les thématiques de désistance et désaffiliation de groupes criminels, ou encore le désengagement de groupes marginaux, les thèmes abordés par nos sondés nous ont amenés à prendre un pas de côté et mobiliser plutôt la littérature sur le soutien social l’autodéveloppement (mutual aid and self-help). Développée autour des groupes d’entraide entre pairs de type Alcoolique Anonymes (AA), cette littérature nous permet de toucher du doigt des éléments jusqu’à présent peu explorés des trajectoires de désengagement, c’est-à-dire les différentes composantes du soutien social : le soutien affectif, l’intégration sociale (ou le soutien du réseau), le soutien à l’estime de soi, l’aide tangible, le soutien informatif et l’opportunité d’aider les autres (Cutrona & Russel, 1990). Bien que largement idiosyncrasiques, les résultats de cette recherche démontrent que les trajectoires de sorties de l’extrémisme de droite sont parsemées de points de convergence. L’importance du soutien apporté par les proches (parents, conjointes, ami-e-s), la mise en valeur du savoir expérientiel via l’utilisation du modelage et l’opportunité d’aider les autres comme une façon de s’aider soi-même, sont quelques facteurs facilitant le désengagement qui sont explorés dans ce mémoire. / In recent years, far-right groups have gained increased visibility in Canada and elsewhere. While researchers and journalists alike are trying to better understand this diverse and evolving movement, scientific literature remains primarily focused on groups and trends rather than individual mechanisms and trajectories. As a result, little research has been done on the dynamic processes that lead individuals to join or leave these groups. This research examines the disengagement trajectories of former members of right-wing extremist groups in Canada and highlights their perspectives on this experience. Based on the life stories of thirteen former members, our paper will put into perspective their engagement and disengagement out of different far-right groups, and will explore the role of social support in their journeys. While researchers are trying to understand disengagement from extremism by drawing on knowledge about disengagement and disaffiliation from criminal groups, or disengagement from marginal groups, the themes addressed by our respondents led us to take a step aside and instead mobilize the literature on mutual aid and self-help. Developed around peer support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), this literature allows us to highlight elements of disengagement trajectories that have so far been little explored, that is to say social support components: emotional support, social integration, self-esteem support, tangible aid, informative support and opportunity for nurturance (Cutrona & Russel, 1990). Although largely idiosyncratic, the results of this research show that exit trajectories from extremism are dotted with points of convergence. The importance of support from close ones (parents, spouses, friends), the value of experiential knowledge through the use of modelling and the opportunity to help others as a way of helping oneself, are some of the facilitating factors explored in this thesis.