ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how ideology is narrated in the life stories of former and active Swedish neo-Nazis. Employing a social psychological perspective toward the meaning-making process of neo-Nazi ideology, this chapter investigates the role that ideology plays in both former and active adherents’ narratives of engagement in the neo-Nazi movement. The chapter also analyzes the differences in how former and active neo-Nazis talk about violence and violent acts in the movement. The chapter will show that there has been a decisive shift between activists from the skinhead era and post-skinhead era in respect to how they address and articulate ideological conviction and violence. Results also indicate that Sweden’s neo-Nazi movement has undergone an intellectualization process over the past few decades, with violence becoming increasingly politicized.
