Right-wing extremism in the Nordic countries – analysing threat assessments by the security police

The right-wing extremism (RWE) milieu in the Nordic region is arguably becoming increasingly transnational in nature. Nordic groups, networks, and individuals have been inspired by global narratives and followed their foreign idols. The terrorist attacks in Norway in 2011 have also inspired criminality globally. In this paper, we explore the threat landscape and relevant groups and actors primarily in the light of security police reports from four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The reports were studied following the changing threat assessments, caused, among other things, by COVID-19 and most recently by the war in Ukraine. We look into which organizations and actors have been considered most relevant in each country, which kind of activities are expected to cause a threat, and how these threats link to the pan-Nordic movement and also to international far-right activism. The analysis is supplemented with recent academic literature on right-wing extremism in the Nordic countries. Findings indicate that while the threat of RWE has developed in tandem in all Nordic countries, threat assessments are often (too) focused within national boundaries. New transnational phenomena, such as accelerationism and anti-establishment ideologies, as well as social media and online communities, which are some of the key drivers behind the decreased relevance of formal RWE organizations, have been given increasing attention in the reports. Sweden and Norway were recognised to address new trends and concepts rather early, whereas the Finnish and sometimes Danish responses came considerably late. To some extent, the analysed reports lacked a dimension of foresight and were often reactive or descriptive in nature, perhaps not serving the purpose of policy planning and preventive work as fully as hoped.