What can government talk tell us about punitiveness? The case of Norway post 22 July 2011

Abstract

Highlighting the culturally contingent nature of state reactions to crime, the present case study uses content analysis to examine state talk issued by the Norwegian government following the 22 July 2011 terrorist attacks to illustrate how more moderate responses to horrific events are accomplished through government talk emphasizing themes thought to constrain as opposed to facilitate a more punitive response. Situating state discourse in the context of the Scandinavian welfare state, the present study argues that government talk surrounding the Breivik case reflects and reinforces Norway's comparatively less volatile and competitive social order. Analysis of less incendiary government talk is needed to better understand the role of government rhetoric in shaping responses to crisis.

The role of symbolic politics in exceptional crime policy debate: a study of the 2014 Swedish general election

“…This narrative portrays Sweden and the other Nordic countries as being exceptional in relation to the rest of the Western world, with their small prison populations and humane prison conditions (Lappi-Seppälä, 2012;Pratt & Eriksson, 2013). Studies of media and crime policy debates have also utilized this conceptual framework (Pratt & Eriksson, 2013;Waggoner, 2015). Factors that help to constrain a trend towards greater punitiveness, thus supporting the thesis on Scandinavian, or Nordic, exceptionalism, include high levels of public confidence in government agencies, social cohesion and an ability to resist fear of crime (Lappi-Seppälä, 2012;Pratt & Eriksson, 2013;Snacken, 2010;Waggoner, 2015).…”

“…By studying which symbolic statements occupy a central position in this election campaign, the present article explores how crime control is legitimized and understood, and how the political parties strive to engage the general public through the use of symbolic statements (Edelman, 1964(Edelman, /1976. Whether or not this kind of rhetoric will counteract punitive measures, as previous research has indicated (Loader, 2010;Waggoner, 2015), will also be discussed.…”

“…This, in turn, is assumed to have influenced these countries' penal policies, protecting them from the neoliberal shift and punitive crime policies experienced in the Anglophone countries (Cavadino & Dignan, 2006;Lappi-Seppälä, 2012;Pratt & Eriksson, 2013). In addition, the concept of 'Scandinavian exceptionalism' (Pratt, 2008) and analyses of a moderate Nordic crime policy (Cavadino & Dignan, 2006;Loader, 2010;Pratt & Eriksson, 2013) have been used to show that the political debate in the Nordic countries also includes a rhetoric that counteracts the punitive trend experienced elsewhere in the Western world (Waggoner, 2015). Although the notion of an exceptionally humane Nordic penal order is being challenged (Barker, 2013(Barker, , 2017Smith & Ugelvik, 2017), it has been argued that this notion continues to influence the logic and positive self-image of the Nordic countries (Barker, 2013(Barker, , 2017Hörnqvist, 2016;Smith, 2017).…”

Enemies of freedom and defenders of democracy: The metaphorical response to terrorism

“…They were dominated by expressions of sorrow, communality and solidarity, not expressions of revenge or hatred. Academics (Waggoner, 2014) and several international news media (e.g. Reimann, 2011) have commented on the relative absence of hatred and revenge in Norwegian public and political discourse.…”

“…In addition, the USA and Norway are very different societies with unique cultures, histories and political systems. One cannot understand Bush’s response without considering the political, economic and military ambitions of the Bush administration, nor fully understand Stoltenberg’s response without taking into account Norwegian social democratic institutions and political culture (Waggoner, 2014).…”