Who Controls the Border? An Analysis of The Nordic Far-Right

My PhD project involves the study of the far-right in the Nordic States and its relationship with securitised migration and various kinds of broader identity politics. The project will also look at how functions of bordering occur within the perimeters of the Nordic states, as well as the desire for their occurrence at the limits of them, and for what purposes these occur. I have read broadly on methods for studying the far-right and have adapted these because of the Covid-19 pandemic, shifting my focus to online data-collection.

There are ethical issues involved in studying far-right groups, so I have opted for online collection of data, which is made publicly available. Due to ease of access, the international (pan-Nordic) nature of the group, and its explicitly Nordic orientation, I have opted to focus on the Nordic Resistance Movement. A qualitative focus on narratives allows study without direct participation and given the growing online presence (and in some cases exclusive existence) of far-right communities, web-based observation both ethically sound (I have received full-ethics approval) and practical. Given that far-right violence is an area of inquiry for this project, there will be a certain amount of work that can only be done at a distance and as a result the questions asked about far right violence will be more philosophical than immediately practical.

The aim of this research project is to unpick the methods by which far right groups have constructed their identities and ascertain if there is a relationship between these identities, migration being treated as a security threat and bordering practices. By offering a deconstruction of far-right methods, identities, and narratives, I offer an example of how to go about challenging these. By challenging such features of far-right groups, it may be possible to better understand them and, therefore, combat them in a more nuanced manner.