Soldiers of Odin: Vigilantism in Europe

• In Event: Hate Crime Contextualized

Abstract

In virtually all European countries there have been established private groups which are patrolling the streets. These groups maintain that their goal is to reestablish a state of safety they claim is threatened by criminal migrants. Some of these groups have a distinct right-wing extremist profile and do not hide that they are vigilantes. The Soldiers of Odin is the fastest growing movement of this kind. Established by a Finnish neo-Nazi in 2015, it has spread out rapidly to an increasing number of countries. These vigilante groups challenge the state’s monopoly on violence, claiming that the police are either unable or unwilling to handle the challenges caused an uncontrolled influx of migrants from the Muslim world, which is threatening public safety in general and “our women” in particular. These vigilante groups appear to have very different profiles in different European countries and achieve very different levels of acceptance and legitimacy. They have a far greater operational leeway in some countries in the south and east of Europe than they have in the north and west, such as in Norway, where they are very restricted by opposition from the police and all the mainstream political parties.

Author

• Tore Bjorgo, Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX), University of Oslo