The environment looks very different today than ten years ago. At the time it was dominated by the Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR), but it is a very small organization today, according to Mattsson.
– We see a much more fragmented and subcultural right-wing environment. Which makes it hard to predict, even for those in the environment, and thus it also becomes more risky, he says in Aktuellt.
The fragmentation has made the groupings smaller but more dangerous, which has made the situation similar to the one in the 90s, he believes.
– Regardless of what one thinks of NMR, that organization had an influence on the environment and could regulate the use of violence. We have a situation much more like the 90s now. Unpredictable groups that are loosely organized and more likely to carry out quick actions where violence is closer at hand.
New subcultures
A subculture that has emerged within the far-right environment are so-called fight clubs. A phenomenon that is relatively new in Sweden. It only started emerging in 2020 with inspiration from the US and the Active Club network.
– They have made a mix of ultra-masculinity, capacity for violence, racism and right-wing extremism to try to get out on the streets and act more, says Jonathan Lehman, researcher at Expo.
He says that it is primarily younger people who apply to the fight clubs – a target group that the established organizations have had difficulty reaching.
Christer Mattsson also says that the far-right ideology has always had violence as an end and a means, so ideas about reclaiming the street and fighting street battles are not new.
– It is not strange that it arises in the subcultural environments, he says.
See more about fight clubs in the video above.