Focusing on the debates on ‘due impartiality’ provided to far-right leaders in Swedish media, this article uses a Lacanian approach to address the relationship between the practices of normalisation of far-right discourses and fantasies, and the evolution of emotional governance at the interstice of old (i.e. traditional) and new (e.g. social media) media. Emotional governance refers to the everyday emotionally charged utterances and statements made by political leaders. However, this phenomenon can also be read in a larger Foucauldian sense as techniques of surveillance, control and manipulation and as related to narrative representational fantasies. Studies dealing with the normalisation of far-right discourse from a media perspective tend to focus on framing, journalistic norms, market structures and business incentives. We aim to expand these perspectives by opening a discussion on the interplay between the ontological (in)securities attached to the emotional governance of far-right leaders, and the techno-social affordances and roles provided to (and by) ‘old’ and ’new’ actors in the hybrid media ecosystem. We further analyse this interplay by looking at the particular fantasies embedded in it and the consequences of the enactment of ‘due impartiality' and equal footing’ norms and practices in the Swedish media landscape.

This article is concerned with the psychological dimensions of deglobalization and white supremacy as related to fantasies of “whiteness.” The (re)construction of narratives and myths are contested processes, concerning both the struggle for control over historical and cultural space as well as the articulation of particular needs for individuals and groups in the present. We explore the stories and myths created around globalization, (in)security, and the nation. Of importance is how deglobalization and emerging ontological insecurities relate to various fantasy narratives and how these can be understood in psychological terms of dislocation, hybridity, and impermanence in conjunction with a search for security and stability. The implications of these processes on contemporary political identities are of crucial importance as they are able to speak to some of the most contested issues of our times: the threat of extremist and white supremacist groups and discourses to democracy and democratic institutions.