This study examines two Facebook groups with the explicit purpose of creating a resistance against the nationalist and right-wing political party the Sweden Democrats. Through qualitative interviews with administrators of these groups, three main themes have been identified and analyzed: the motivation behind the resistance, the role these groups play for their members and the path to an active political engagement online. The theoretical basis for the analysis consists of Becker’s theory on deviant groups, Goffman’s dramaturgical perspective and Bauman’s description of the age of nostalgia. The study finds that the members of the groups mainly protest against the outlook on people expressed by the Sweden Democrats through their view on immigrants. While an increasing number of people in Sweden express negative views on immigrants, the members of these groups turn to each other online to find a community where their views are shared. The Facebook groups act as places of support, but also as sources of fact-based information where arguments to use in life offline can be found. Anyone who doesn’t sympathize with the Sweden Democrats, and who agrees to the group terms of preserving a friendly debate climate, is welcome in these groups, creating a relatively heterogenous group composition. The start of an active engagement in these groups seems to have been triggered by a specific event, but the social process leading there appears to consist of a development of a sense of justice through upbringing and earlier experiences. A current life situation permitting time for engagement as well as a feeling of deviating from the views of others in their social proximity, seem to be other important factors resulting in an active political engagement online.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:lnu-100768 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Hindrikes, Evelin |
| Publisher | Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för samhällsstudier (SS) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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