Governing Through Aid: A Biopolitical Analysis of Swedish Development Policy
(2024) SIMZ31 20241Graduate School
- Abstract (Swedish)
- This paper employs a biopolitical framework to critically analyse Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency’s (Sida) development and humanitarian policies, focusing on how these align with broader biopolitical strategies aimed to shape the lives of populations in recipient countries. Through a critical discourse analysis of four key policy documents, the study addresses the central question of how Sida’s policies reflect biopolitical governance. It reveals that Sida’s interventions and aid recipients are framed in ways that reinforce a hierarchy of populations, reflecting Sweden's interests and values. The study also highlights the conditional nature of Sweden's official development assistance, where aid is tied to recipients... (More)
- This paper employs a biopolitical framework to critically analyse Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency’s (Sida) development and humanitarian policies, focusing on how these align with broader biopolitical strategies aimed to shape the lives of populations in recipient countries. Through a critical discourse analysis of four key policy documents, the study addresses the central question of how Sida’s policies reflect biopolitical governance. It reveals that Sida’s interventions and aid recipients are framed in ways that reinforce a hierarchy of populations, reflecting Sweden's interests and values. The study also highlights the conditional nature of Sweden's official development assistance, where aid is tied to recipients meeting criteria aligned with Swedish priorities. The research further explores how these policies are intertwined with broader neoliberal strategies, for example by promoting resilience and controlling global movements. Ultimately, the analysis suggests that Sida’s policies serve not only humanitarian purposes but also Sweden's security and economic interests, positioning Sweden as a moral and essential actor in global development while exporting Swedish norms and values. Altogether, the research contributes to discussions on development and humanitarian efforts, power dynamics, control and governance. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9174432
- author
- Abresparr, Agnes LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SIMZ31 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Sida, Sweden, biopolitics, development discourse, critical discourse analysis, security
- language
- English
- id
- 9174432
- date added to LUP
- 2024-09-13 14:46:28
- date last changed
- 2024-09-13 14:46:28
@misc{9174432, abstract = {{This paper employs a biopolitical framework to critically analyse Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency’s (Sida) development and humanitarian policies, focusing on how these align with broader biopolitical strategies aimed to shape the lives of populations in recipient countries. Through a critical discourse analysis of four key policy documents, the study addresses the central question of how Sida’s policies reflect biopolitical governance. It reveals that Sida’s interventions and aid recipients are framed in ways that reinforce a hierarchy of populations, reflecting Sweden's interests and values. The study also highlights the conditional nature of Sweden's official development assistance, where aid is tied to recipients meeting criteria aligned with Swedish priorities. The research further explores how these policies are intertwined with broader neoliberal strategies, for example by promoting resilience and controlling global movements. Ultimately, the analysis suggests that Sida’s policies serve not only humanitarian purposes but also Sweden's security and economic interests, positioning Sweden as a moral and essential actor in global development while exporting Swedish norms and values. Altogether, the research contributes to discussions on development and humanitarian efforts, power dynamics, control and governance.}}, author = {{Abresparr, Agnes}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Governing Through Aid: A Biopolitical Analysis of Swedish Development Policy}}, year = {{2024}}, }