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This dissertation presents an ideological analysis based on the writings of the Swedish political thinker Per Engdahl (1909–1994). Engdahl is known for establishing the New-Swedish movement and developing an ideology called New-Swedishness. Previous studies have described Engdahl as a fascist or even a Nazi, but he has seldom been the primary object of study, and his ideology has rarely been subjected to further analysis. Therefore, the aim of this dissertation is to analyze and classify Engdahl's ideology from the early 1930s to 1968. This period encompasses the interwar period, the Second World War, and the post-war era. Thus, the study addresses the reformulation of fascism into neo-fascism in the wake of the Second World War. The analysis of Engdahl's ideology is inspired by Michael Freeden's theoretical model of how ideologies are constructed as configurations of political concepts.

The study is based on an analysis of Engdahl's political writings and is divided into two parts. The first part, covering the period 1930–1945, examines the main concepts of Engdahl's ideology and discusses them in relation to theories of interwar fascism. Engdahl created an ideology that was a unique Swedish form of interwar fascism centered on the idea of creating a national people's community.

In the second part of the dissertation, which covers the period 1945–1968, there is a significant reformulation of the ideology from fascism to neo-fascism. This development involved a reduction in anti-Semitic rhetoric, and the replacement of the concept of “race” with “culture”. In the post-war era Engdahl shifted his focus from a national perspective to a European perspective and founded the Europäische Soziale Bewegung (European Social Movement), a network for European neo-fascists. During this period, the focus of Engdahl's ideology consequently shifted from a national people's community to a European cultural community.