Anna Hedlund
Biographic Data
| ID | 80809 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Anna Hedlund |
| GIVEN NAMES | Anna |
| FAMILY NAME | Hedlund |
| SIGNATURE | HEDLUND A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Gothenburg |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3185-125X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 4 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 8 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Nordic Policy Responses to Gang-Related Crime 2009–2025
This article presents a document-based analysis of fifteen years of policy responses to gang-related crime in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Beginning with Denmark’s introduction of the first Nordic anti-gang package in 2009, it traces the historical trajectories, political rationalities, and intervention strategies that have shaped Nordic approaches to gangs and organized crime. The analysis identifies three paradigmatic policy shifts: a post-preve…
The new generation of gang desisters
In recent years, gang exit programmes in Sweden and Denmark have seen an increase in gang desisters with a different profile than those originally targeted by the programmes. This group of gang desisters is predominantly young (between 15 and 30 years old), has been involved in severe violence and crime, and comes from marginalised and ethnically diverse backgrounds. Many face complex psychological problems, such as trauma and PTSD. Based on ethn…
The street crime paradox
This article draws on ethnographic data from Sweden, Denmark, and Norway to examine movement into and out of street crime. Based on participant observations and interviews with individuals involved in drug dealing and other street crimes, we show that some of the very same aspects of street life that attract individuals, most notably community, violence, and drugs, also motivate attempts to leave it. We conceptualize this dynamic as the street cr…
Social Representations of the Jihadist
Over the last two decades, the social identity of the jihadist has become a central part of street culture. Depictions of jihadists can be found in popular music, movies and media reports. Propaganda celebrating or condemning jihadism circulates online, and a significant number of individuals with a background in street crime have flirted with or converted to jihadism. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Oslo, this article analyses how Muslims i…
Respect and anxiety
Youth gun violence has surged in Sweden recently. Quantitative studies have described the prevalence and geographical locations of gun violence, but little research has examined how perpetrators and victims themselves experience and make sense of guns. This article draws on ethnographic interviews with young men who have firsthand experience of gun violence in a criminal context. Drawing on narrative analysis, it shows that guns are given multifa…
Hutu Rebels
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in a rebel camp located deep in the Congo forest, Anna Hedlund explores the micropolitics and practices of everyday life in a community of Hutu rebel fighters and their families and attempts to understand why they continue to fight in what appears to be an endless conflict.
Simple soldiers? Blurring the distinction between compulsion and commitment among Rwandan rebels in Eastern Congo
Media descriptions of the conflicts in the Eastern Congo usually depict violent events as being systematic attacks by rebels and militias (perpetrators) on the civilian population (victims). While much attention has been given to the victims of such violence, less effort has been made to understand the perspectives and underlying motives for violence of those who are actively engaged in fighting the war. Using anthropological arguments, this arti…
There Was No Genocide in Rwanda
This article analyzes how the 1994 genocide in Rwanda is recalled and described by members of a Hutu rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) whose leadership can be linked to the 1994 atrocities in Rwanda. The article explores how individuals belonging to this rebel group, currently operating in the eastern territories of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), articulate, contest, and oppose the dominant narrative …
Simple soldiers? Blurring the distinction between compulsion and commitment among Rwandan rebels in Eastern Congo
Media descriptions of the conflicts in the Eastern Congo usually depict violent events as being systematic attacks by rebels and militias (perpetrators) on the civilian population (victims). While much attention has been given to the victims of such violence, less effort has been made to understand the perspectives and underlying motives for violence of those who are actively engaged in fighting the war. Using anthropological arguments, this arti…
Social Representations of the Jihadist
Over the last two decades, the social identity of the jihadist has become a central part of street culture. Depictions of jihadists can be found in popular music, movies and media reports. Propaganda celebrating or condemning jihadism circulates online, and a significant number of individuals with a background in street crime have flirted with or converted to jihadism. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Oslo, this article analyses how Muslims i…
There Was No Genocide in Rwanda
This article analyzes how the 1994 genocide in Rwanda is recalled and described by members of a Hutu rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) whose leadership can be linked to the 1994 atrocities in Rwanda. The article explores how individuals belonging to this rebel group, currently operating in the eastern territories of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), articulate, contest, and oppose the dominant narrative …
There Was No Genocide in Rwanda
This article analyzes how the 1994 genocide in Rwanda is recalled and described by members of a Hutu rebel group, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) whose leadership can be linked to the 1994 atrocities in Rwanda. The article explores how individuals belonging to this rebel group, currently operating in the eastern territories of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), articulate, contest, and oppose the dominant narrative …
Simple soldiers? Blurring the distinction between compulsion and commitment among Rwandan rebels in Eastern Congo
Media descriptions of the conflicts in the Eastern Congo usually depict violent events as being systematic attacks by rebels and militias (perpetrators) on the civilian population (victims). While much attention has been given to the victims of such violence, less effort has been made to understand the perspectives and underlying motives for violence of those who are actively engaged in fighting the war. Using anthropological arguments, this arti…
Hutu Rebels
Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in a rebel camp located deep in the Congo forest, Anna Hedlund explores the micropolitics and practices of everyday life in a community of Hutu rebel fighters and their families and attempts to understand why they continue to fight in what appears to be an endless conflict.
Respect and anxiety
Youth gun violence has surged in Sweden recently. Quantitative studies have described the prevalence and geographical locations of gun violence, but little research has examined how perpetrators and victims themselves experience and make sense of guns. This article draws on ethnographic interviews with young men who have firsthand experience of gun violence in a criminal context. Drawing on narrative analysis, it shows that guns are given multifa…
Social Representations of the Jihadist
Over the last two decades, the social identity of the jihadist has become a central part of street culture. Depictions of jihadists can be found in popular music, movies and media reports. Propaganda celebrating or condemning jihadism circulates online, and a significant number of individuals with a background in street crime have flirted with or converted to jihadism. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Oslo, this article analyses how Muslims i…
Nordic Policy Responses to Gang-Related Crime 2009–2025
This article presents a document-based analysis of fifteen years of policy responses to gang-related crime in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Beginning with Denmark’s introduction of the first Nordic anti-gang package in 2009, it traces the historical trajectories, political rationalities, and intervention strategies that have shaped Nordic approaches to gangs and organized crime. The analysis identifies three paradigmatic policy shifts: a post-preve…
The new generation of gang desisters
In recent years, gang exit programmes in Sweden and Denmark have seen an increase in gang desisters with a different profile than those originally targeted by the programmes. This group of gang desisters is predominantly young (between 15 and 30 years old), has been involved in severe violence and crime, and comes from marginalised and ethnically diverse backgrounds. Many face complex psychological problems, such as trauma and PTSD. Based on ethn…
The street crime paradox
This article draws on ethnographic data from Sweden, Denmark, and Norway to examine movement into and out of street crime. Based on participant observations and interviews with individuals involved in drug dealing and other street crimes, we show that some of the very same aspects of street life that attract individuals, most notably community, violence, and drugs, also motivate attempts to leave it. We conceptualize this dynamic as the street cr…
Crime Patterns and Interventions (4 works) · Criminology (4 works) · Ethnography (4 works) · Political science (4 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Cambodian History and Society (3 works) · Gender Studies (3 works) · Law (3 works) · Political Conflict and Governance (3 works) · Anthropology (2 works)