The neo-Nazi doxa, the deep state, and COVID-19: neo-Nazis’ ambivalent relations to Big Pharma and the anti-vaccine movement

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores the role of conspiracy theories in the neo-Nazi movement. The focal points of the study are the core conspiracy theories within the movement and the interface with other conspiracy theories of less ideological importance such as ‘Big Pharma.’ The study is based on interviews with six active neo-Nazis in the context of the Swedish-dominated Nordic resistance movement. The informants were all senior in the movement with long experience as neo-Nazi officials. In addition, the empirical material also depicts a unique internal strategy document from the movement that instructs all activists on how to talk and how to avoid talking about various forms of conspiracy theories. The study shows that conspiracy theories, such as the claim of a ‘great replacement’ and ‘the deep state,’ serve as a doxa for the movement. This doxa is not the consequence of the movement but rather a precondition for it.