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Att försvara krig i mänskliga rättigheters namn

Lindholm, Nora LU (2026) MRSG32 20252
Human Rights Studies
Abstract
Defending war in the name of human rights: A discourse analysis of Sweden's
participation in ISAF.
Despite the country’s past military non-alignment, Sweden still actively participated in the
combat mission of ISAF for twelve years. This study aims to produce new knowledge of
how human rights are portrayed in the Swedish parliamentary debates on international
operations. The study uses a discourse analysis with an adaptation of Alexander Wendt’s
theory of collective identity formation into an analytical perspective of collective human
rights identity. The material has been restricted to parliamentary debates from 2002, 2006,
2010 and 2014 that directly mention ISAF or Afghanistan. The research questions aim to
identify... (More)
Defending war in the name of human rights: A discourse analysis of Sweden's
participation in ISAF.
Despite the country’s past military non-alignment, Sweden still actively participated in the
combat mission of ISAF for twelve years. This study aims to produce new knowledge of
how human rights are portrayed in the Swedish parliamentary debates on international
operations. The study uses a discourse analysis with an adaptation of Alexander Wendt’s
theory of collective identity formation into an analytical perspective of collective human
rights identity. The material has been restricted to parliamentary debates from 2002, 2006,
2010 and 2014 that directly mention ISAF or Afghanistan. The research questions aim to
identify human rights discourses in the parliamentary debates about Sweden’s engagement
in ISAF between 2002 and 2014. Furthermore, the study examines which “we” and “them”
distinctions and identities are produced within the discourses. Finally, the last research
questions concern how the discourses on human rights contributed to legitimizing Sweden’s
role in ISAF. The results reveal a human rights discourse connected to the fight against
terrorism and with women’s right to education. Evident “we” and “them” distinctions were
identified between Sweden, the US and non-state actors in Afghanistan. An identity
emerged where Sweden was attributed a responsibility to protect civilians, whilst the
operation was legitimized through the multilateral cooperation of ISAF and the exclusion
of alternatives. In summary, Sweden’s contribution to ISAF is well positioned within a
collective legal defense of human rights. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Lindholm, Nora LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
En diskursanalys av Sveriges deltagande i ISAF
course
MRSG32 20252
year
type
L2 - 2nd term paper (old degree order)
subject
keywords
Human Rights, Sweden, Afghanistan, International Security Assistance Force, Discourse analysis
language
Swedish
id
9225936
date added to LUP
2026-09-02 14:18:51
date last changed
2026-09-02 14:18:51
@misc{9225936,
  abstract     = {{Defending war in the name of human rights: A discourse analysis of Sweden's
participation in ISAF. 
Despite the country’s past military non-alignment, Sweden still actively participated in the 
combat mission of ISAF for twelve years. This study aims to produce new knowledge of 
how human rights are portrayed in the Swedish parliamentary debates on international 
operations. The study uses a discourse analysis with an adaptation of Alexander Wendt’s 
theory of collective identity formation into an analytical perspective of collective human 
rights identity. The material has been restricted to parliamentary debates from 2002, 2006, 
2010 and 2014 that directly mention ISAF or Afghanistan. The research questions aim to 
identify human rights discourses in the parliamentary debates about Sweden’s engagement 
in ISAF between 2002 and 2014. Furthermore, the study examines which “we” and “them” 
distinctions and identities are produced within the discourses. Finally, the last research 
questions concern how the discourses on human rights contributed to legitimizing Sweden’s 
role in ISAF. The results reveal a human rights discourse connected to the fight against 
terrorism and with women’s right to education. Evident “we” and “them” distinctions were 
identified between Sweden, the US and non-state actors in Afghanistan. An identity 
emerged where Sweden was attributed a responsibility to protect civilians, whilst the 
operation was legitimized through the multilateral cooperation of ISAF and the exclusion 
of alternatives. In summary, Sweden’s contribution to ISAF is well positioned within a 
collective legal defense of human rights.}},
  author       = {{Lindholm, Nora}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Att försvara krig i mänskliga rättigheters namn}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}