Living out our Ethnic Instincts. Ideological Beliefs among Right-Wing Activists in Norway

Abstract

The Norwegian rightist underground consists of three fronts comprising rather different lifestyles and ideologies. The three fronts are the paramilitary groups, the National Socialist skinhead front, and the ideological front. This article compares the ideological beliefs held by activists from the different fronts. One aim is to point to the loss of ideological consistency, and the implicit quality of the beliefs, as well as the way incompatible beliefs among different activists are encapsulated into the all-embracing concept of nationalism. The article also sorts out some of the main ideological dimensions which tend to separate the underground. These dimensions are nationalism vs. Germanism, culture vs. race, right vs. left. In the end the article goes into more detail on the beliefs held by the National Socialists of the underground, including the way Norwegian activists relate to ZOG [Zionist Occupation Government] theory. Nationalist and National Socialist are the words used by right-wing activists in Norway to describe their views. A few years ago, it was not that important for them whether one was a nationalist or a National Socialist in this underground. To avoid confusion they all call themselves nationalists. After the emergence of paramilitary groups which define themselves in contrast to the skinhead front, the tensions between nationalism and national socialism have increased. However, the underground still acts together when arranging concerts and parties. The reason why the activists do not split the underground according to contrasting views is that they need to stand together in their fight against militant anti-fascists. This article highlights three points: the way contrasting views of different right-wing activists do not become divisive, a discussion of the mechanisms which prevent these contrasting views to splitting the underground, and a description of the ways in which various layers of the underground verbalize their views.

Published in Jeffrey Kaplan and Tore Bjørgo (1998) Nation and Race : The Developing Euro-American Racist Subculture, Boston: Northeastern University Press. With permission from the editors.