“It is not us who throw rocks and burn cars”: The Danish Far Right’s Positions on Rasmus Paludan

With the increased mainstreaming of the far right, in some countries, additional political space has been created for new, more extreme far-right contenders, who continuously test the boundaries of what can be said and done, particularly in relation to third-country (Muslim) immigration. To explore how such new challengers are received by the existing domestic far-right extra- and parliamentary actors, this paper focuses on the case of Denmark and the entry of Rasmus Paludan to both the protest and electoral arena. In recent years, the Danish far right has profited from a societal far-right mainstreaming, together with low suppression levels of people’s freedom of speech. Speaking into the dominant Danish discourse around ‘freedom of speech’, Rasmus Paludan has become renowned for his provocative anti-Islam protest actions (including Koran-burnings and derogatory slurs), and for setting up the party Hard Line (Stram Kurs)). His entry to the political scene has led to renewed strong discussions about the (potential limits to) freedom of speech in Denmark, both at the public, political, and media level. Drawing on the concept of ‘strategic action fields’ and Meguid’s work on political competition, and focusing on 6 of the most prominent Danish far-right extra- and parliamentary organisations, this study analyses how the Danish far right has responded to the actions of Rasmus Paludan. Through a frame analysis of their website articles and blog posts, the analysis shows rather diverse responses from the organisations, ranging from strong support (‘Counter-Jihad’ organisations) to outright dismissal (from the extreme right Nordfront).