Det öppna Norden och dess högerextrema fiender : En studie av demokratisk (in)tolerans

Sammanfattning: This thesis examines four Nordic countries’ problem representations on the area of democratic tolerance against extreme right movements and ideologies, with a special focus on how these problem representations might affect the different countries’ democracy as well as future conditions for consensus and cooperation. By using a poststructural perspective and discourse analytical framework called ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’, the Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Finish perspective on tolerance against right wing extremism is analysed and compared. The study analyses official government documents and speeches, and finds that there are several differences between the cases with regards to how they formulate extreme right movements as an existential threat against democracy, or rather as a minor challenge. Sweden to a large extent, and Finland to some extent, highlights extreme right extremism as a direct threat against democracy, and therefore opens up for regulations of fundamental democratic principles such as the freedom of association in order to combat this. Denmark and Norway are more reluctant to these kinds of measures and are rather highlighting the importance of defending the democratic principles in themselves. The result indicates that future regional cooperation between all four countries is unlikely, as they so apparently differ in how they understand and accentuates the problem of democratic tolerance against extremism.