Symbolförbud? : Ideologi, symboler och hatbrott

Sammanfattning: IIn the essay Symbol prohibition? - Ideology, symbols and hate crimes the function of symbols in the process of manufacturing hate crimes are studied from a post- structuralist ideology-critical point of view.The paper aims to highlight how such a theoretical standpoint can explain the motives of hate crime based on a post-structural theory in terms of social economy, power, and social dominance. In a post-structural hypothesis, we assume that economic power gives rise to symbols used to create ideologies. In turn, ideologies are used to create institutions such as racist ideas and ethnic groups, by creating a sense of unity, among ethnical groups and a sense of superiority towards other competing groups. Through this relative position of power, the dominant group creates a sense of inferiority in those who are dominated by hate crimes. In this text, we analyze two documents written by the Government and its Investigation to define hate crimes by investigating whether racism and other symbols should be criminalized.This paper problematizes both of these documents’ positions, which aim to create new laws, by pointing out that the structural understanding of the symbols is lacking. And that such an ideology-critical understanding would have resulted in a more nuanced and partially different conclusion than the Government’s investigation reached. Here, the author wants to show the explanatory value of ideology criticism in criminology specially deals with hate crimes .