Navigating National Tragedy: A Comparative Analysis of Responses to Mass Shootings in Norway and the United States

Abstract

The shooting at the Workers’ Youth League Summer Camp in Utøya, Norway on July 22nd, 2011, targeted teenagers, and lead to the deaths of 69 people. The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14th, 2012, targeted children, killing 26 people. Gun violence, particularly extra-legal gun violence perpetrated by civilians, is a pervasive issue globally; however, the United States is an outlier in gun violence with repeated offenses particularly in educational environments. A mass shooting can be defined as one or more individuals killing or attempting to kill multiple people with a firearm in a populated area (Ray & Chmielewski, 2024). Norway has had three mass shootings resulting in death in recent history. There were more than 650 mass shootings in the United States in 2023 (Gun Violence Archive, 2024). What is the difference between the two nations? For my research, I explore the political and public responses of the nations by analyzing politicians' speeches and published opinion pieces in newspapers and magazines written by the public in both countries in relation to these instances of gun violence. I am interested in the historical, cultural, and political structures and institutions of the two countries that help to shape and form their responses to these national tragedies and how this in turn effects gun policy. In my analysis of Norwegian speeches and opinion pieces, I found themes of identity formation and community building as a nation, secular language, shock, and a strong correlation between political and public desires for the country. In my analysis of American speeches and opinion pieces, I found themes of passivity, division, polarization, and religious language. Understanding the differences in response and approach to issues of gun violence between Norway and the United States may begin to give context as to why the United States is plagued with repeated gun violence.