Making the Automatic Authentic: What Far Right Social Movements Emotionally Offer Their Supporters

Switzer, Ryan

This study examines the interplay between internalized beliefs, social norms, and far-right extremism in Sweden. While social expectations of tolerance have increased in many Western countries, stereotypical portrayals and unconscious prejudices have remained stable over time. This leads to the persistence of socially undesirable "gut reactions" that are regularly reignited by the sociocultural context. Simply put: we live in racist societies where the expression of racism is stigmatised. What do far right movements offer their supporters to overcome this dissonance?

Preliminary findings show that these movements settle this dissonance by offering spaces for individuals to express their masked sentiments, enabling them to embrace their automatic reactions and articulate views typically deemed unacceptable. By legitimizing these automatic reactions as authentic responses to contemporary challenges, far-right social movements enable supporters to navigate their beliefs without the need to police their more habitual way of thinking or talking. Building on the bodies of literature on prejudice, implicit attitudes, and the emotional dimensions of social movements we explore the functionality of the far right's pervasive discourses of righteousness, rationality, and truth.

Employing a mixed-methods approach, this research integrates large-scale attitudinal data analysis with qualitative field interviews and observations of far-right activists in Sweden. This study sheds light on the psychological and social factors that shape beliefs and behaviors, revealing how far-right movements facilitate the reconciliation of automatic reactions with expressed views, while reinforcing exclusionary attitudes.