The Epitome of a Lost People’s Home: Sweden Democrats’ Discourse of Ontological Security And National Identity Formation

Abstract

As globalization processes are continuously developing, and bringing the world in to every person’s backyard, many problems may arise. Insecurity in one’s self-identity, national belonging and cultural heritage may entail several shifts in the political discourse. The theoretical underpinning for this thesis, which is ontological security, addresses these issues and attempts to make sense of sociopolitical orders and events on several levels. As Sweden faces a new era in politics, one in which nationalist movements may play a greater role, they bring along issues of national identity and appeal to security aspects of identity. It may be possible that such parties are gaining strength from the central role of national identity in their party program, but then what does this mean in the formation of national identity? The importance of understanding their discursive practices in national identity formation, based on ontological security issues, may become key in understanding the consequences. Furthermore, this paper strives to gain a better understanding of what the possibilities are to mitigate ontological insecurity by a less securitized, and inclusive inference that responds to the current demographic. This paper recognizes the reflexive nature of both discourse and identity formation, hence the issue is not to step outside the discourse, but to demonstrate the discursive mechanisms and their possible implications in terms of their reflexivity. So forth, reflexivity will demonstrate the issues of discourses becoming entrenched, intertwined and possibly misguided in any attempt of mitigating of ontological security through securitizing and excluding. Awareness shall anyhow be directed toward the politolinguistic practices deployed by nationalist movements. Because, by understanding the discursive goals, we may also hypothesize on the implications. This paper will bring about central nominations, predications, argumentations, perspectivizations and intensifications/mitigations in the discursive practices of the Sweden Democrats and contextualize their rhetoric, in order to gain an understanding of their discursive means and aims. Several discursive components shall be elucidated, as well as the party’s constructed discursive role. This shall bring about an understanding of the Sweden Democrats’ constructed role in the discourse, but also by which means they approach such a depiction, and what that may ensue for defined out-group members.