Where have all the skinheads gone? A content analysis of Reports on Extremism in the Czech Republic from 1997 to 2013

Abstract

This study explores the skinhead subculture in the Czech Republic, as reflected in the media and in the political, pedagogical, sociological, psychological, and security fields. It presents skinhead subculture on the basis of the Reports on Extremism in the Czech Republic that have been published by the Ministry of the Interior since 1997. It also describes the mechanism by which these reports are formulated and prepared, along with their history and ratification by the government. The main objective of the study is to identify security issues associated with the skinhead subculture in the Czech Republic, and the way it has been evaluated by the Ministry of the Interior in the Ministry's internal documents. On the basis of the content analysis, basic security topics are identified that have been associated with this highly publicized subculture since the 1990s. The research question is: What security issues are associated with the skinhead subculture in the Reports on Extremism in the Czech Republic? The answer is provided via content analysis which is both quantitative and qualitative, and which covers the period from 1997 to 2013.