The affective landscapes of the Swedish far right

Abstract This article ethnographically charts the emotional relations to place that run through the Swedish far-right social movement—theorized as an affective landscape. Throughout interviews and participant observations at a movement free space, the House of the Swedes, rural “heartland” regions were melancholically and intentionally portrayed as neglected “places that don't matter.” The nostalgic promise of reestablishing an ethno-racially homogeneous “homeland” justified intervention and activism in the name of the heartland community. “Badland” urban ghettos were simultaneously warnings and roadmaps—transformed from spaces of fear into aspirational sites of political potentials of segregation and intra-ethnic solidarity. The circulation and reproduction of these imaginaries relied on physical infrastructures: trusted free spaces, online and off, where White national identities could be expressed without potential sanctioning. These spaces facilitated the formation of affective bonds through rituals and cultural practices, generating the emotional and financial conditions necessary to sustain the movement. Emotional dynamics, all rooted in place, are key to understanding the far right's resilience and persistence, offering broader insights into the emotional lives of social movements and the study of the far right.