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Naming, Unnaming, Renaming: A thematic discourse analysis of Swedish aid to Palestine, 2022-2025

Fasting, Ella LU (2026) MIDM19 20261
Department of Human Geography
LUMID International Master programme in applied International Development and Management
Abstract
Sweden has long presented itself as a principled donor. Yet the simultaneous invocation of human rights vocabulary alongside increasingly restrictive practices in Sweden’s post-2022 Palestine policy has not been systematically examined. Between October 2022 and the end of 2025, the bilateral Palestine strategy was replaced by a regional one and partner organisations were placed under review. This thesis asks how post-2022 Swedish aid policy constructs rationales for engagement, and with what consequences for human rights and accountability.Through thematic discourse analysis of nine official documents and six interviews, the analysis traces four shifts: occupation recedes as a named structural condition; rights-holders are repositioned as... (More)
Sweden has long presented itself as a principled donor. Yet the simultaneous invocation of human rights vocabulary alongside increasingly restrictive practices in Sweden’s post-2022 Palestine policy has not been systematically examined. Between October 2022 and the end of 2025, the bilateral Palestine strategy was replaced by a regional one and partner organisations were placed under review. This thesis asks how post-2022 Swedish aid policy constructs rationales for engagement, and with what consequences for human rights and accountability.Through thematic discourse analysis of nine official documents and six interviews, the analysis traces four shifts: occupation recedes as a named structural condition; rights-holders are repositioned as vulnerable populations; securitisation consolidates as an organising frame; and national identity is preserved as cover while operative content shifts toward interest-based logics. Building on settler-colonial theory and depoliticisation critiques, the thesis proposes normative power securitised as a working concept fusing normative power Europe withsecuritisation theory, to read how principled vocabulary is preserved while operative content is redirected. Identifying these discursive operations, the analysis contributes to debates on Swedish humanitarian exceptionalism, the securitisation of aid, and donor complicity in settler-colonial contexts, and suggests a discursive mechanism for the post-October 2023 turn toward aid weaponisation. (Less)
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author
Fasting, Ella LU
supervisor
organization
course
MIDM19 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Development aid, Sweden, Palestine, thematic discourse analysis, settler colonialism, depoliticisation, securitisation, normative power, normative power securitised
language
English
id
9226372
date added to LUP
2026-06-30 15:16:06
date last changed
2026-06-30 15:16:06
@misc{9226372,
  abstract     = {{Sweden has long presented itself as a principled donor. Yet the simultaneous invocation of human rights vocabulary alongside increasingly restrictive practices in Sweden’s post-2022 Palestine policy has not been systematically examined. Between October 2022 and the end of 2025, the bilateral Palestine strategy was replaced by a regional one and partner organisations were placed under review. This thesis asks how post-2022 Swedish aid policy constructs rationales for engagement, and with what consequences for human rights and accountability.Through thematic discourse analysis of nine official documents and six interviews, the analysis traces four shifts: occupation recedes as a named structural condition; rights-holders are repositioned as vulnerable populations; securitisation consolidates as an organising frame; and national identity is preserved as cover while operative content shifts toward interest-based logics. Building on settler-colonial theory and depoliticisation critiques, the thesis proposes normative power securitised as a working concept fusing normative power Europe withsecuritisation theory, to read how principled vocabulary is preserved while operative content is redirected. Identifying these discursive operations, the analysis contributes to debates on Swedish humanitarian exceptionalism, the securitisation of aid, and donor complicity in settler-colonial contexts, and suggests a discursive mechanism for the post-October 2023 turn toward aid weaponisation.}},
  author       = {{Fasting, Ella}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Naming, Unnaming, Renaming: A thematic discourse analysis of Swedish aid to Palestine, 2022-2025}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}