Per-Erik Nilsson

Mänskliga rättigheter i det lokala Sverige behandlar frågor om det ansvar som det allmänna har på lokal och regional nivå för att säkerställa respekten för de mänskliga rättigheterna. Ledande forskare inom fältet förklarar och diskuterar frågan om vad de mänskliga rättigheterna innebär rättsligt, politiskt och etiskt i en lokal kontext. Flera grundläggande rättighetsperspektiv relateras till konkreta former av det offentliga uppdraget. Både internationella åtaganden och svensk rättslig reglering relateras till det ansvar som legitim förvaltning av demokratin innebär. Vad kräver respekten för de mänskliga rättigheterna av det offentliga Sverige i det lokala och regionala sammanhanget? Hur arbetar vi i praktiken så att de mänskliga rättigheterna skyddar individer och stärker demokratin och rättsstaten? Författarna diskuterar dessa och andra frågor i en tydlig relation till nutida forskning och konkreta exempel. En av den demokratiska rättsstatens viktigaste uppgifter är att garantera skyddet av mänskliga rättigheter som dessa definieras i lagar och konventioner. Regeringsformen, liksom flera internationella instrument, tillförsäkrar medborgarna ett på många områden starkt rättighetsskydd. Detta är ett uttryck för vad som brukar kallas rättssäkerhet. Den enskilde ska bland annat åtnjuta skydd mot det offentliga styrets maktutövning. Grundläggande principer är allas likhet inför lagen och möjligheten att få sin sak prövad i rättvis rättegång. Ur förordet av Anne Ramberg

Per-Erik Nilsson takes a religious studies approach to analyse the intersections of secularism, nationhood and populism in contemporary France. This book provides insight into the French and European radical-nationalist ideology and activism, and contributes to our understanding of the complex relationship between religion and the state in contemporary Europe and beyond. When Marine Le Pen became the leader of the radical nationalist and populist party National Front in 2011, she made clear that secularism was a core value of party. This signalled a significant shift in the party's rhetorical strategies and previous reluctance to embrace secularism. Nilsson argues that this conspicuous appropriation first came about as a logical result of the obsession of the established mainstream political parties and news media with questions of secularism, national identity and Islam. He shows that a key player in understanding the National Front’s change is the web-based journal Riposte Laïque, which has become a central actor in French radical-nationalist and anti-Muslim web and street-based activism. For the first time, this source is examined in order to understand French radical nationalists' recent appropriation of secularism, as well as debates on secularism, national identity and Islam in France more broadly.

The Islamic Veil Affairs (2003 4 and 2009 2011), which led to the banning of Muslim girls wearing Islamic headscarves in French public schools and women wearing full-face veils in public, have raised serious concerns about the relationship between secularism and the freedom of religious expression. In Unveiling the French Republic: National Identity, Secularism, and Islam in Contemporary France, Per-Erik Nilsson engages in a careful critical analysis of the Veil Affairs.

Per-Erik Nilsson takes a religious studies approach to analyse the intersections of secularism, nationhood and populism in contemporary France. This book provides insight into the French and European radical-nationalist ideology and activism, and contributes to our understanding of the complex relationship between religion and the state in contemporary Europe and beyond. When Marine Le Pen became the leader of the radical nationalist and populist party National Front in 2011, she made clear that secularism was a core value of party. This signalled a significant shift in the party's rhetorical strategies and previous reluctance to embrace secularism. Nilsson argues that this conspicuous appropriation first came about as a logical result of the obsession of the established mainstream political parties and news media with questions of secularism, national identity and Islam. He shows that a key player in understanding the National Front’s change is the web-based journal Riposte Laïque, which has become a central actor in French radical-nationalist and anti-Muslim web and street-based activism. For the first time, this source is examined in order to understand French radical nationalists' recent appropriation of secularism, as well as debates on secularism, national identity and Islam in France more broadly.

In Open Source Jihad, Per-Erik Nilsson provides a unique overview of the academic research and political legislation concerning 'Islamic terrorism' in Europe. He scrutinises in detail how the concepts 'terrorism', 'radicalisation', and 'counter-terrorism' have developed as academic objects of study and political objects of governance. In the Element, Nilsson brings to the fore systemic problems of the field of terrorism studies as well as the various anti-terrorist apparatuses developed by EU member states. Open Source Jihad should be required reading for anyone interested in current European political and social events.