Deltagandeförbud i rasistiska organisationer? - En undersökning av en eventuell kriminalisering utifrån allmänprevention

Sammanfattning: The issue of a ban on racist organizations has been considered on several occasions. There are two main reasons for said consideration; firstly, because of Sweden’s association to the United Nations’ International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), which requires the States Parties to ban racist organizations; and secondly, because of the issue of organized racism in Sweden. In preparatory materials, it has been argued that existing Swedish legislation is sufficient to comply with the convention’s requirements and that the circumstances in Sweden are not such that a new legislation is called for. At the same time, media has increasingly reported racist organizations, such as the Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR). Due to organized racism in Sweden, in 2019 the Swedish Government launched a commission of inquiry aimed at investigating whether a ban on racist organizations or participation in such organizations should be introduced. The criminalization of racist organizations is a politically charged matter and political values have frequently been used to argue in favour or against such a ban. Continental theories of criminal law are used to motivate criminalization, and in Sweden the theory of deterrence is considered to be fundamental for criminalization issues. This essay is intended to investigate whether criminalization of participation in racist organizations is justified on the basis of deterrence. This study shows that the growth of organized racism poses a threat to democracy and human equality. Conversely, deterrence, implies that criminalization must reduce the total damage in society, commonly referred to at the Harm Principle (the harm principle) while also being the most effective alternative. Although a participation ban would inhibit the growth 2 of organized racism, there are several criteria for criminalization that must be taken into account. This essay shows that racism is not always connected to an organization, and that it is a widespread issue within many sectors of the Swedish society. In keeping with the Harm Principle, this study shows that criminalizing organized racism does not necessarily reduce the total damage in society nor is the most effective measure.