Lions of the North: Sounds of the New Nordic Radical Nationalism

Abstract

Abstract This book uses ethnography to analyze the musical practices of contemporary radical nationalism in the Nordic region. The region—and Sweden in particular—gained international distinction during the 1990s as a global center for neo-Nazi skinhead culture and white power music. During the first decade of the twenty-first century, however, skinheadism and its attendant music industry withered, and in its place nationalists began experimenting with alternative musical expressions as they sought to articulate a new identity and agenda for anti-immigrant, antiliberal activism. This book explores these new musical creations and the discourses surrounding them. The opening two chapters discuss the history of Nordic radical nationalism, trends in insiders' efforts to escape their skinhead stereotypes, and differences among nationalist actors today. Chapters 3 through 5 offer case studies of contrasting musical projects in this new era, moving from hip-hop and reggae, to Nordic folk music, to soft-rock styles known as "freedom pop." The final chapter investigates a contrasting drive among contemporary nationalists, namely, to purge their movement of its reliance on music altogether. The book argues that these musical phenomena reveal the inner tensions and challenges shaping Nordic radical nationalism as it attempts to reform itself.