Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

En nationell sorg En analys av effekterna av mordet på utrikesminister Anna Lindh utifrån ett nationalistiskt perspektiv

Nilsson, Boel (2006)
Department of Political Science
Abstract
In September 2003 the Swedish minister of foreign affairs Anna Lindh was murdered. The murder shocked Sweden and the picture of a safe homeland was challenged. The Swedish people joined together in different manifestations and rituals to show their appreciation for the minister and to mourn together. A few days later the nation was going to vote on whether Sweden should join the euro and the minister was involved in the campaign. The aim for this thesis is to understand how this national crisis was handled in Sweden. To study this I have used theories of nationalism and ritual. My material has mainly been memorial books and newspaper articles from this period. I argue that this crisis made the nation question its self-image and made a... (More)
In September 2003 the Swedish minister of foreign affairs Anna Lindh was murdered. The murder shocked Sweden and the picture of a safe homeland was challenged. The Swedish people joined together in different manifestations and rituals to show their appreciation for the minister and to mourn together. A few days later the nation was going to vote on whether Sweden should join the euro and the minister was involved in the campaign. The aim for this thesis is to understand how this national crisis was handled in Sweden. To study this I have used theories of nationalism and ritual. My material has mainly been memorial books and newspaper articles from this period. I argue that this crisis made the nation question its self-image and made a transformation necessary. By using the ritual concept of rites de passage I argue that the nation acted like a nation where no conflicts existed the days before the referendum. My argument is also that the murder is incorporated in a national mythology where Lindh becomes a national hero and that the memory of these events is a part of a national self-image.

Keywords: Anna Lindh, national grief, rites de passage, referendum on the euro, national mythology (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Nilsson, Boel
supervisor
organization
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
Anna Lindh, national grief, rites de passage, referendum on the euro, national mythology, Social sciences, Samhällsvetenskaper
language
Swedish
id
1327575
date added to LUP
2006-09-06 00:00:00
date last changed
2006-09-06 00:00:00
@misc{1327575,
  abstract     = {{In September 2003 the Swedish minister of foreign affairs Anna Lindh was murdered. The murder shocked Sweden and the picture of a safe homeland was challenged. The Swedish people joined together in different manifestations and rituals to show their appreciation for the minister and to mourn together. A few days later the nation was going to vote on whether Sweden should join the euro and the minister was involved in the campaign. The aim for this thesis is to understand how this national crisis was handled in Sweden. To study this I have used theories of nationalism and ritual. My material has mainly been memorial books and newspaper articles from this period. I argue that this crisis made the nation question its self-image and made a transformation necessary. By using the ritual concept of rites de passage I argue that the nation acted like a nation where no conflicts existed the days before the referendum. My argument is also that the murder is incorporated in a national mythology where Lindh becomes a national hero and that the memory of these events is a part of a national self-image.

Keywords: Anna Lindh, national grief, rites de passage, referendum on the euro, national mythology}},
  author       = {{Nilsson, Boel}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{En nationell sorg En analys av effekterna av mordet på utrikesminister Anna Lindh utifrån ett nationalistiskt perspektiv}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}