Abstract
On 22 July 2011 a white, Norwegian extremist, Anders Behring Breivik, committed the worst attack in Norway's history since World War II claiming 77 lives. The tragic events revealed the fault lines in dominant narratives of Norwegian unity and challenged the country's reputation as a peace-loving nation. In this essay, I argue that this incident exposes the fundamental distortions of European multiculturalism, which cloak the workings of racist ideologies. I consider Denmark–Norway's overlooked colonial history, which I maintain is at odds with dominant narratives of Norway as an international moral leader and reinforces commonly held assumptions that Norwegian nationalism was unaffected by the vast temporal and spatial upheavals of the colonial period. In the present, such amnesia shifts the focus away from the everyday nature of Breivik's identity, and spares Norwegians from the disagreeable task of reckoning with what his identity may reveal about the terms of national belonging.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
