It is not only foreign powers and violent Islamists that allegedly threaten Sweden, according to the Swedish Security Service (Säpo).
Säpo also states that “anti-state narratives and conspiracy theories” are on the rise and risk developing into a constitutional threat that seriously damages Swedish democracy.
In the report “Lägesbild 2024-2025”, Security Police Commissioner Charlotte von Essen is appalled by what she describes as attempts by hostile countries to destabilize Sweden and Europe – and states that regime and system criticism is something that should be considered highly suspect – or even dangerous.
“Even if Swedish democracy is strong, we need to be vigilant against a development of widespread anti-state narratives and conspiracy theories that in the long run and in the worst case can develop into unconstitutional activities and activities”, she says.
Swedish dissidents are lumped together with foreign terrorists and allegedly hostile states, and Säpo claims that together they “risk challenging and weakening Swedish democracy” or in various ways “creating divisions” in society.
“Anti-state movements, pro-violence extremists and foreign powers spread disinformation, conspiracy theories and propaganda on social media, among other things. By using different types of platforms, these actors reach out widely, not least to children and young people“, it warns and continues:
“The purpose of the activities is to increase distrust of Swedish society, if possible dilute polarization and, in a longer perspective, increase radicalization linked to one’s own issue or ideology“.
Doubts about the state’s ability
The Swedish Security Service admits that while dissidents often highlight real grievances, they use “simplified messages and without complementary or problematizing perspectives” – which allegedly leads to dehumanization and an increased risk of supporters resorting to violence.
At present, the threat to Sweden is said to be limited – but if the messages become more widespread and adopted by more people, the situation could also become much more serious and “undermine fundamental democratic functions and values“, it is claimed.
A much more acute threat, according to Säpo, are those individuals who “have expressed a desire to illegally and through violence change the democratic state system“.
“Many times these individuals can be linked to messages that the state and society are not capable of leading the country or managing its tasks in relation to the citizens. In this narrative, it is claimed that a societal collapse will or needs to occur and then the current rulers and institutions will be powerless”, they warn.
The call: “Don’t fuel polarizing events”
These dissidents are said to “covertly” want to develop an alternative social structure to the current one, and Säpo takes a particularly serious view of those who spread this type of message.
“A significant challenge for the Security Service when it comes to this type of long-term constitutional threat to democracy is to detect when there is a real intention to carry out a subversive act. Such a situation may also be of interest to foreign powers to try to exploit to their own advantage. Anti-state movements can then be used as proxies to destabilize a society and try to influence political decisions”, it further claims.
It further argues that the dissident movements are an international phenomenon and do not only threaten Sweden, and it is said to be particularly serious when “anti-state forces are mixed with conspiracy theories, extremism and violent extremism“:
“Sweden is not immune to such developments as the ideas also exist here. In the current security situation, it is easy for small events to cause situations to flare up in a way that can be difficult to predict. It is important not to fuel polarizing events as this can be exploited by foreign powers and violent extremists”.
“Refrain from spreading dubious messages”
As usual, it also complains that “the rules-based world order” is under increasing pressure and appeals to Swedes to “refrain from spreading dubious messages“.
Critics note that the purpose of Säpo’s report seems to be to suspect and demonize Swedes who express criticism of those in power or the political system in various ways, and that sweeping formulations are deliberately used to portray all forms of systemic criticism as something potentially dangerous and extreme, rather than legitimate and constitutionally protected speech.
Others point out that the report seems to have a clear political bias against critics of immigration, nationalists and conservatives – with the epithet “right-wing extremist” being used repeatedly, while “left-wing extremist” does not appear at all – despite the fact that left-wing violent movements have carried out a long series of violent attacks over the years.
