Swedish LGBTQ Activists’ Responses to Neo-Nazi Threats:

LGBTQ communities and movements across Europe are under attack from various conservative and right-wing extremist groups. What are the political implications of such attacks for LGBTQ activists? Through qualitative interviews and psychoanalytical discourse theory, this article analyses LGBTQ activists’ responses to threats from neo-Nazis in Sweden. By focusing on the problems, solutions and desires articulated by LGBTQ activists, the analysis asks: Who is called upon to handle the neo-Nazis, and how? What fantasies are expressed in such articulations? How may the response to neo-Nazis shape the subjectivities and political aspirations of LGBTQ activists? The analysis shows that the activists adhere to a fantasy of positive and conflict-free politics where the state is called upon to care for them through legal measures, which ties the activists to the state and might block other alliances. The activists also express a desire to inscribe themselves into the LGBTQ movement’s history. This fantasy echo might strengthen a political collective and prove pivotal in future struggles. Taken together, our analysis demonstrates some of the effects of the neo-Nazi presence in Sweden and some of the wider political implications for the LGBTQ movement.