Hur motiveras svensk biståndspolitik genom diskurser om säkerhet?: En kritisk diskursanalys av policyramverket för svenskt utvecklingssamarbete och humanitärt bistånd (2016)

Abstract

This essay is a critical discourse analysis of representations of security that are visible in the Swedish aid policy. The text aims to analyse discourses of security, through lenses of poststructuralist critique, in the current policy framework represented by the Swedish government from 2016 (Policyramverket för svenskt utvecklingssamarbete och humanitärt bistånd 2016/17:60). The study aims to give an insight into how Swedish aid is linked with a security perspective and how that affects Sweden as a global actor. Therefore, the question was formulated: How is Swedish aid motivated through discourses about security? To answer this question the study is supported and constructed through two subquestions: What is motivated as a security issue in the Swedish aid policy? and How is Sweden presented as an actor? The result of the study shows that several discourses of security are represented in the framework - ecological security, global security, human security, and economic security. Furthermore, the study also shows how the Swedish government motivates its approach of aid is strongly linked to security. The essay also gives an insight into Sweden's role in the world and how Swedish aid is strongly reflected in the nation's identity and values.