Säkerhetiseringen av gängen: En kvalitativ idéanalys av Sveriges politik kring visitationszoner.

Abstract

This study analyses how the Swedish government has portrayed, constructed and legitimised stop and search zones (visitationszoner) as an extraordinary measure as a response to gang- related crime in Sweden. By combining securitisation theory and a descriptive idea analysis this thesis analyses how governmental and political actors have framed gang violence as an existential threat to society, and by doing so, justifying the implementation of extraordinary measures that deviate from normal legal standards. The empirical material that is analysed consists of Policy documents, speeches and other official communication from the Swedish government and police between the years of 2023 and 2024. The analysis is divided into three dimensions: conceptual, problem and solution. Through these dimensions the analysis identifies how language and rhetoric shape the political discourse. Key findings demonstrate how emotionally charged terms such as “safety” (trygghet) are strategically used to invoke a sense of urgency and societal breakdown. The zones are presented as necessary solutions and not political options which illustrates a discursive shift from politicisation to securitisation. The study shows how language is used as a tool of power in democratic states and is a contribution to the understanding of how posing a question as a security issue can normalise exceptional legislation.