Politically motivated crime against immigrants in Sweden: When, where and how?
Short description
Politically motivated violent crime against immigrants, their homes, and politicians responsible for immigration issues is a widespread social problem. In addition to the individual suffering of the victims, it increases economic costs and contributes to societal polarisation. Despite this, we know very little about when, where, and how negative views on immigration turn into violence. This project answers these questions by mapping and analysing attacks on refugees between the 2008 wave of refugees from Iraq and the current wave of refugees from Ukraine.
To answer when violence occurs, we examine how the number of attacks coincides with changes in the way immigration issues are discussed among political leaders and in social media. To answer where violence occurs, we examine the socio-economic (e.g. unemployment and immigration levels) and political (e.g. support for anti-immigrant parties) conditions in the locations targeted. To understand how violence arises, we map escalation processes in the interaction between neighbours of refugee settlements, politicians and other actors in the localities concerned. The data material consists of local and national media (mainly daily newspapers), preliminary investigation material and police reports, social media and websites from anti-immigration organisations, and local groups on social media.
Participating researchers:
Anton Törnberg (Project leader)
Måns Lundstedt
Mattias Wahlström