Conflict processes between youth group in a norwegian city : polarisation and revenge
Original version
Bjørgo, T. (2005). Conflict processes between youth groups in a norwegian city: polarisation and revenge. European journal of crime, criminal law and criminal justice, 13(1), 44-74.Abstract
This study analyses the dynamics of conflict between two youth scenes in the
Norwegian city of Kristiansand, commonly described as ʻthe neo-Nazisʼ, and their
counterparts, referred to as ʻthe anti-racistsʼ or ʻthe Valla Gangʼ. The ʻneo-Nazisʼ
regularly committed acts of violence against other youths belonging to the multi-ethnic
youth scene. As such, many of these incidents could clearly be described as acts of
racist violence or hate crime. However, through interviews with 50 participants from
both sides it became clear that the acts of violence were part of a more complex set
of conflict dynamics between youth groups. This involved processes of polarisation
within and between the local youth scenes as well as cycles of generalised revenge
based on widely shared notions of ʻone for all and all for oneʼ. Youth groups and
individual actors switched between political identities and gang identities depending
on the situation, and conflicts that initially had nothing to do with racism or anti-racism
could easily become politicised. Based on an understanding of the conflict processes,
several points of intervention could be identified. Several of the interventions gave positive outcomes.