Mattias Gardell
Professor at Centre for Multidisciplinary Studies on Racism
- Mobile phone:
- +46 70 303 66 66
- E-mail:
- mattias.gardell@cemfor.uu.se
- Visiting address:
- Engelska parken
Thunbergsvägen 3C, vån 3 hus 22 - Postal address:
- Box 511
751 20 Uppsala
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Short presentation
Mattias Gardell is Nathan Söderblom Professor in Comparative Religion, and researcher at the Centre for the Multidisciplinary Studies of Racism. Working with ethnographic methods and text analysis, Gardell explores the intersections of religion, politics, racism and violence. His expertise includes radical nationalism, esoteric fascism, Islamophobia, political Islam, human bombs, torture history, hate crime, the history of racism and religion, fascist culture, and white racist lone wolf tactics.
Keywords
- professor
- forskare
- researcher
Biography
Mattias Gardell is Nathan Söderblom Professor in Comparative Religion, and researcher at the Centre for the Multidisciplinary Studies of Racism at Uppsala University, Sweden. He took his PhD at Stockholm University in 1995 on the PhD Dissertation Countdown to Armageddon: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam based on several years of fieldwork and interviews in the segregated Black American inner-cities. His first post-doctoral research projects were a comparative study of black and white religious nationalism in the United States (Federativs 1998), and the seminal study on racist paganism, Gods of the Blood. White Separatism and the Pagan Revival (Duke 2003), both involving extensive fieldwork within the white power culture in the US and abroad. Since then, Gardell has continued to draw on ethnographic methods, interviews, and text analysis in exploring the difficult terrain shaped by the intersections of religion, politics, racism, and violence, in various empirical fields, including black and white radical nationalism, white power culture, esoteric fascism, human bombs, torture history, Islamophobia, political Islam, white racist political violence, the entangled history of racism and religion, the affective dimensions of radical nationalism, contemporary fascist fiction and arts, white racist lone wolf tactics, and white nostalgia and the politics of memory. He has published eleven research monographs, and more than a hundred articles, anthology chapters, reports and essays. His latest publications are Lone Wolf Race Warriors and White Genocide (Cambridge 2021), and “‘The Girl Who Was Chased by Fire’: Violence and Passion in Contemporary Swedish Fascist Fiction”, Fascism (10:1, 2021).
Research
Mattias Gardell - Post-Doctoral Research Projects
- White Nostalgia. The Politics of Home and Belonging. Supported supported by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) 2022-2025
- Angry white men? A study of violent racism, correlations between organized and unorganized hate crime and the affective dimensions of ultranationalism, supported by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet), 2017-2019
- Methodological Laboratories – towards tenable methods to measure discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity and religion. In cooperation with a team of researchers at Multikulturellt Centrum. Supported by the Swedish Research Council [Vetenskapsrådet] 2017-2019
- IMPACT of Religion. Challenges for Society, Law, and Democracy. A Linneaus Research Programme, Centre of Excellence at Uppsala University 2008-2018. Scientific Leader of Theme Two: Integration, Democracy, and Political Culture, consisting of seven distinct work packages. Supported by The Swedish Research Council and Uppsala University.
- Lone Actor Terrorism and Leaderless Resistance, supported by the National Coordinator against Violent Extremism, 2016-2017
- Islamophobia and the Production of Stigmatized Minorities, supported by IMPACT and the Swedish Research Council, 2008-2010.
- The Race Warrior. A White Racist Serial Killer in Malmoe. Supported by The Swedish Research Council and IMPACT, Uppsala University, 2013-2015
- Torture, Terror and Truth: a Study of the Return of Judicially Sanctioned Torture, supported by Uppsala University 2006-2008.
- Human Bombs: Male Warrior Traditions, Cultures of Violence, and Political Religion, supported by the Faculty of Humanities, Stockholm University, 2004-2005.
- Globalization and the Transforming Landscapes of Political Islam, part of the multidisciplinary research program Conflict or Peaceful Co-Existence? Contemporary Christian-Muslim Relations, supported by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (The Swedish Bank Research Foundation) 2003-2005.
- Gods of the Blood: The Religious Dimensions of the White Power Milieu, part of the multidisciplinary research program National Socialism in Transition. Perspectives on Contextual Analysis, supported by the Swedish Research Council, 2000-2003
- Conspiracy Beliefs and Violence in American Culture, together with Professor Michael Barkun, Department of Political Science, Syracuse University, supported by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation 1998 - 2000.
- Black and White Religious Nationalism in the United States, supported by the Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences, 1996-1997
- Globalization and Religion, supported by the Swedish Council for Planning and Co-ordination of Research (Forskningsrådsnämnden), 1995-1996

Publications
Selection of publications
What’s Love Got To Do With It?: Ultranationalism, Islamophobia and Hate Crime in Sweden
Part of Journal of Religion and Violence, 2015
Raskrigaren: Seriemördaren Peter Mangs
Leopard, 2015
Crusader Dreams: Oslo 22/7, Islamophobia, and the Quest for a Monocultural Europe
Part of Terrorism and Political Violence, p. 129-155, 2014
So Costly a Sacrifice on the Altar of Freedom: Human Bombs, Suicide Attacks, and Patriotic Heroes
Part of Journal of Religion and Violence, p. 168-202, 2014
Någonting är ruttet i Sverige: Brevväxling mellan Mattias Gardell och Sara Granér
Part of Någonting är ruttet i Sverige, p. 1-183, ETC Förlag, 2014
Part of Rasismen i Sverige, p. 98-104, Natur och kultur, 2014
Part of Controversial New Religions, p. 383-398, Oxford University Press, 2014
So costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom: Human bombs, suicide attacks and patriotic heroes
Part of Sacred Suicide, p. 151-171, Ashgate, 2014
Antifeminism, kulturrasism och begäret efter renhet
Part of Att störa homogenitet, Atlas, 2013
Vita fältet special: Rättegången mot Anders Behring Breivik. Epilog
Part of Det vita fältet. Forskning om högerextremism, 2013
Part of ARKIV. Tidskrift för samhällsanalys, 2013
Sweden's Dirty Little Secret: The illegal databases of Romani people
2013
Part of Hvordan motarbeide antifeminsime og høyreekstremisme?, p. 18-23, 2013
Part of Weaving Politics, 2013
Counter Jihadism, Political Violence and Leaderless Resistance: Lone Wolves in the New Radical Right
Part of Lone Wolves in the New Radical Right, 2012
Islamofobin måste tas på stort allvar
2012
2012
Antifeminsm: Breiviks kvinnohat politiskt motiverat
Part of Feministiskt Perspektiv, 2012
Terror in the Norwegian Woods: Europe's the New Anti-Muslim Far Right
Part of Overland, 2011
Part of Overland, p. 4-11, 2011
Folkhemsislamism: islamdemokrati som biopolitisk maktordning
Part of Islam och politik, p. 173-185, Studentlitteratur, 2011
"Every Man and Woman is God's Caliph": The Rise of the Islamic Democratic Mainstream
Part of Fundamentalism in the Modern World, p. 240-265, I.B. Taurus, 2011
ايد هآ لهاي صليبي مقدس”, “Idealha-ye salibi-ye moqaddas”, [Crusader ideals]
Part of Mehrnameh, 2011
Den gröna faran: islamofobi, kunskapsregimer och värdet av kritisk forskning
Part of Perspektiv på islam, Dialogos, 2011
Part of Mehrnameh, 2011
Spartacus, 2011
The roots of Breivik's ideology: where does the romantic male warrior ideal come from today?
2011
Leopard förlag, 2010
Islam och muslimer i Sverige: En utvärdering av trettio projekt finansierade av Arvsfonden 1994-2006
2010
Leopard förlag, 2010
Att offra livet på frihetens altare: om självmordsattentat och patriotiska hjältar
Part of Motstånd, p. 97-126, Liber, 2009
Religion and War: Recent Trends. Prospects for the Future
2009
Oseriös larmrapport om Rosengård
Part of Svenska Dagbladet, 2009
Part of Håller Europa?, p. 28-42, Cordia (Verbum förlag ab), 2009
Tortyrens återkomst: Disciplinering och suveränitet under globalsamhällets konstituering
Part of Postpolitik, Tankekraft, 2008
Globalisering, sekularisering och religionernas återkomst
Part of Religion och existens 2007, 2007
Part of Göteborgs fria, 2007
Bin Laden i våre hjerter: Globaliseringen og fremveksten av politisk islam
Spartacus, Oslo, 2007
Part of Salam, Arena i samarbete med Sensus studieförbund och Ibn Rushd studieförbund, 2007
Rasstaten och dess försvarare: om vithet, nationalsocialism och vitmaktkultur i Förenta staterna
Part of Brunt!, 2007
White Racist Religions.: From Christian Identity to Wolf Age Pagans
Part of Controversial New Religions, Oxford University Press, New York & London, 2005
Part of Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies, Oxford University Press, 2003
Black and White Religious Nationalism
Part of The Cultic Milieu, AltaMira Press, 2002
Vargavinter i Vinland: Rasmystik, identitetspolitik och modern asatro i Förenta staterna
Part of Myter om det nordiska : mellan romantik och politik, Nordic Academic Press, 2001
Recent publications
How "the left" meme: Analyzing taboo in the Internet memes of r/DankLeft
Part of New Media and Society, p. 3950-3972, 2025
- DOI for How "the left" meme: Analyzing taboo in the Internet memes of r/DankLeft
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Part of Radicalisation, p. 301-322, Oxford University Press, 2024
Part of Violence, Conspiracies, and New Religions, p. 59-82, Equinox Publishing, 2024
Fascism and the Violent Replacement of The People
Part of The Politics of Replacement, p. 245-261, Routledge, 2023
Part of Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion, Oxford University Press, 2023
All publications
Articles in journal
How "the left" meme: Analyzing taboo in the Internet memes of r/DankLeft
Part of New Media and Society, p. 3950-3972, 2025
- DOI for How "the left" meme: Analyzing taboo in the Internet memes of r/DankLeft
- Download full text (pdf) of How "the left" meme: Analyzing taboo in the Internet memes of r/DankLeft
Part of Journal of Language and Politics, p. 415-437, 2023
- DOI for Discourses and practices of the ‘New Normal’: Towards an interdisciplinary research agenda on crisis and the normalization of anti- and post‑democratic action
- Download full text (pdf) of Discourses and practices of the ‘New Normal’: Towards an interdisciplinary research agenda on crisis and the normalization of anti- and post‑democratic action
Part of Nordicom Review, p. 3-15, 2021
- DOI for Uncivility, Racism, and Populism: Discourses and Interactive Practices in Anti- and Post-Democratic Communication
- Download full text (pdf) of Uncivility, Racism, and Populism: Discourses and Interactive Practices in Anti- and Post-Democratic Communication
‘The Girl Who Was Chased by Fire’: Violence and Passion in Contemporary Swedish Fascist Fiction
Part of Fascism, p. 166-185, 2021
- DOI for ‘The Girl Who Was Chased by Fire’: Violence and Passion in Contemporary Swedish Fascist Fiction
- Download full text (pdf) of ‘The Girl Who Was Chased by Fire’: Violence and Passion in Contemporary Swedish Fascist Fiction
Urban Terror: The Case of Lone Wolf Peter Mangs
Part of Terrorism and Political Violence, p. 793-811, 2018
- DOI for Urban Terror: The Case of Lone Wolf Peter Mangs
- Download full text (pdf) of Urban Terror: The Case of Lone Wolf Peter Mangs
What’s Love Got To Do With It?: Ultranationalism, Islamophobia and Hate Crime in Sweden
Part of Journal of Religion and Violence, 2015
Crusader Dreams: Oslo 22/7, Islamophobia, and the Quest for a Monocultural Europe
Part of Terrorism and Political Violence, p. 129-155, 2014
So Costly a Sacrifice on the Altar of Freedom: Human Bombs, Suicide Attacks, and Patriotic Heroes
Part of Journal of Religion and Violence, p. 168-202, 2014
Vita fältet special: Rättegången mot Anders Behring Breivik. Epilog
Part of Det vita fältet. Forskning om högerextremism, 2013
Part of ARKIV. Tidskrift för samhällsanalys, 2013
Antifeminsm: Breiviks kvinnohat politiskt motiverat
Part of Feministiskt Perspektiv, 2012
Terror in the Norwegian Woods: Europe's the New Anti-Muslim Far Right
Part of Overland, 2011
Part of Overland, p. 4-11, 2011
ايد هآ لهاي صليبي مقدس”, “Idealha-ye salibi-ye moqaddas”, [Crusader ideals]
Part of Mehrnameh, 2011
Part of Mehrnameh, 2011
Part of Arena, 2008
Torture, Terror and Truth: On the meaning of Guantánamo and the future of global order
Part of Temenos, p. 139-164, 2008
Globalisering, sekularisering och religionernas återkomst
Part of Religion och existens 2007, 2007
Part of Tidsignal, 2007
Part of Göteborgs fria, 2007
Part of Göteborgs fria, 2007
Det bör ändå berättas: om sanningsregimer, media och Palestina
Part of Göteborgs fria, 2007
Jordanien torterar misstänkta terrorister
Part of Svenska dagbladet, 2007
Books
Mångkulturellt centrum, 2022
Lone Wolf Race Warriors and White Genocide
Cambridge University Press, 2021
Den ensamme terroristen?: Om lone wolves, näthat och brinnande flyktingförläggningar
Ordfront förlag, 2017
Raskrigaren: Seriemördaren Peter Mangs
Leopard, 2015
Revolution i Egypten: Det muslimiska brödraskapet
Leopard, 2011
Spartacus, 2011
Leopard förlag, 2010
Leopard förlag, 2010
Bin Laden i våre hjerter: Globaliseringen og fremveksten av politisk islam
Spartacus, Oslo, 2007
Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism
Duke University Press, 2003
Rasrisk: rasister, separatister och amerikanska kulturkonflikter
Natur & Kultur, 2003
In the Name of Elijah Muhammad: Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam
Duke University Press, 1996
Chapters in book
Part of Radicalisation, p. 301-322, Oxford University Press, 2024
Part of Violence, Conspiracies, and New Religions, p. 59-82, Equinox Publishing, 2024
Fascism and the Violent Replacement of The People
Part of The Politics of Replacement, p. 245-261, Routledge, 2023
Part of Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion, Oxford University Press, 2023
Esoteric Nordic Fascism: The Second Coming of Hitler and the Idea of the People
Part of Nordic Fascism, p. 138-165, Routledge, 2022
Islamofobi: Antimuslimsk rasism och dess konsekvenser
Part of Migration och etnicitet, p. 409-428, Studentlitteratur AB, 2021
Att offra livet på frihetens altare: Om självmordsattentat och patriotiska hjältar
Part of Motstånd, p. 95-132, Irene Publishing, 2021
"Pop-up Vigilantism and Fascist Patrols in Sweden"
Part of Vigilantism against Migrants and Minorities, p. 286-304, Routledge, 2019
The Barbarian in Rome and the Cultural Relativism Debate
Part of Relativism and Post-Truth in Contemporary Society:, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018
Lone Wolves: hotet från ensamagerande politiska våldsbrottslingar
Part of Den ensamme terroristen?, p. 87-203, Ordfront förlag, 2017
I gränslandet – symbiosen mellan det organiseradeoch oorganiserade
Part of Den ensamme terroristen?, Ordfront förlag, 2017
Någonting är ruttet i Sverige: Brevväxling mellan Mattias Gardell och Sara Granér
Part of Någonting är ruttet i Sverige, p. 1-183, ETC Förlag, 2014
Part of Rasismen i Sverige, p. 98-104, Natur och kultur, 2014
Part of Controversial New Religions, p. 383-398, Oxford University Press, 2014
So costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom: Human bombs, suicide attacks and patriotic heroes
Part of Sacred Suicide, p. 151-171, Ashgate, 2014
Antifeminism, kulturrasism och begäret efter renhet
Part of Att störa homogenitet, Atlas, 2013
Antifeminism, kulturrasism och begäret efter renhet
Part of Att störa homogenitet, Nordic Academic Press, 2013
Folkhemsislamism: islamdemokrati som biopolitisk maktordning
Part of Islam och politik, p. 173-185, Studentlitteratur, 2011
"Every Man and Woman is God's Caliph": The Rise of the Islamic Democratic Mainstream
Part of Fundamentalism in the Modern World, p. 240-265, I.B. Taurus, 2011
Den gröna faran: islamofobi, kunskapsregimer och värdet av kritisk forskning
Part of Perspektiv på islam, Dialogos, 2011
Part of Ship to Gaza, p. 195-205, Leopard, 2010
Att offra livet på frihetens altare: om självmordsattentat och patriotiska hjältar
Part of Motstånd, p. 97-126, Liber, 2009
Part of Håller Europa?, p. 28-42, Cordia (Verbum förlag ab), 2009
Part of Contemporary Paganism, Brill, 2008
Part of Handbook of Contemporary Paganism, Brill, 2008
"Tortyrens återkomst": Disciplinering och suveränitet under globalsamhällets konstitutering
Part of Den bästa av världar?, Tankekraft, 2008
Tortyrens återkomst: Disciplinering och suveränitet under globalsamhällets konstituering
Part of Postpolitik, Tankekraft, 2008
Part of Salam, Arena i samarbete med Sensus studieförbund och Ibn Rushd studieförbund, 2007
Rasstaten och dess försvarare: om vithet, nationalsocialism och vitmaktkultur i Förenta staterna
Part of Brunt!, 2007
White Racist Religions.: From Christian Identity to Wolf Age Pagans
Part of Controversial New Religions, Oxford University Press, New York & London, 2005
Part of Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies, Oxford University Press, 2003
Black and White Religious Nationalism
Part of The Cultic Milieu, AltaMira Press, 2002
Vargavinter i Vinland: Rasmystik, identitetspolitik och modern asatro i Förenta staterna
Part of Myter om det nordiska : mellan romantik och politik, Nordic Academic Press, 2001
Conference papers
Part of Hvordan motarbeide antifeminsime og høyreekstremisme?, p. 18-23, 2013
Part of Weaving Politics, 2013
Counter Jihadism, Political Violence and Leaderless Resistance: Lone Wolves in the New Radical Right
Part of Lone Wolves in the New Radical Right, 2012
Part of Antifeminism, 2012
Reports
2018
Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in the Labor Market
2018
2018
Moskéers och muslimska församlingars utsatthet och säkerhet i Sverige 2018
2018
Islam och muslimer i Sverige: En utvärdering av trettio projekt finansierade av Arvsfonden 1994-2006
2010
Religion and War: Recent Trends. Prospects for the Future
2009
Other
Sweden's Dirty Little Secret: The illegal databases of Romani people
2013
Islamofobin måste tas på stort allvar
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
Flat granskning av Breiviks bakgrund
2012
The roots of Breivik's ideology: where does the romantic male warrior ideal come from today?
2011
Part of Aftonbladet, 2010
Part of Svenska Dagbladet, 2010
Part of Aftonbladet kultur, 2010
Oseriös larmrapport om Rosengård
Part of Svenska Dagbladet, 2009
Part of Aftonbladet kultur, 2009