TERRORISMResearchers: No Guarantee Against Another Terrorist Attack, Despite Increased Surveillance
77 people were killed on 22 July 2011 in Norway. ‘Never again’ became a national promise. 15 years later, terrorism researchers cannot rule out that a similar attack could happen again. “A society that would be able to guarantee against terrorist attacks is, unfortunately, probably a society we would not want,” says one expert.
“A society that would be able to guarantee against terrorist attacks is, unfortunately, probably a society we would not want,” says Jacob Ravndal, a professor at the Norwegian Police University College.
He is one of several researchers affiliated with the Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX) at the University of Oslo.
They have recently published the book Right-Wing Extremism in Norway after 22 July – Attitudes, Actors, Mobilisation, and Resistance.
Small Movement, Serious Threat
“Right-wing extremism in Norway is a small but serious security threat,” says Anders Ravik Jupskås, head of C-REX and editor of the publication.
He points out that the organized right-wing extremist movement is small and that the groups that do exist are only minimally involved in violence. In addition, support for violent methods is low in Norway.
“At the same time, the threat is serious because there have been a disproportionately high number of terrorist attacks in Norway. We also have a fair amount of serious racist violence that flies under the radar. Such attacks can have enormous consequences, as the 22 July terrorist attack showed us with absolute clarity 15 years ago,” he stresses.
Jupskås notes that this can involve severe violence that is not necessarily categorized as terrorism but should nevertheless be regarded as right-wing extremist violence.
Sweden and Norway Have the Most Lone-Actor Terrorists
When it comes to what they call ‘the most visible part of the spectrum,’ meaning the most serious acts of violence, the terrorism researchers say that the level has dropped significantly since the 1990s.
However, Norway stands out particularly negatively in terms of the number of lone-actor terrorists – terrorists who operate alone.
“When we look at attacks carried out by lone actors whose aim is mass killing, Norway ranks second in Western Europe. Sweden tops the list. Two Nordic welfare states dominate this statistic,” says Jacob Ravndal.
Although the overall numbers are low, he considers the trend worrying.
“When we as researchers look back at the 15 years that have passed since the worst terrorist attack hit Norway, we speculate whether there’s something about the welfare state itself that may enable such radicalization processes,” he says.
Ravndal points, among other things, to the fact that the welfare state can make it possible for relatively resourceful individuals, who speak English and have good internet access, to sit undisturbed in their childhood bedrooms living off various welfare benefits, and immerse themselves very deeply in extremist content.
