Welfare to Be Earned? A Discourse Analysis of Entitlement, Deservingness and Recognition in Sweden’s Proposed Qualification Requirements for Social Benefits.

Abstract

This thesis analyses how welfare, entitlement and welfare subjects are discursively constructed in the policy process surrounding the proposed qualification requirements for social insurance benefits and financial assistance, as part of the Swedish social benefit reform, ‘bidragsreformen’. Drawing on Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of discourse analysis, the study examines the governmental committee directive Dir. 2023:149 (Socialdepartementet, 2023) and the Swedish Government Official Report SOU 2025:53, with selected consultation responses used to illustrate contestation within the policy process. The analysis shows that welfare is constructed less as a universal social right tied to residence or need, and more as a conditional resource that must be earned, qualified for and protected. Migration, weak labour market attachment, social exclusion and long-term welfare dependency are framed as interconnected problems, while qualification requirements are presented as a necessary solution. The reform is legitimised through economic arguments about sustainability and incentives, moral and political arguments about work and reciprocity, legal arguments about compatibility with national and supranational law, as well as research-based arguments. The analysis further shows how third-country nationals, particularly those who are unemployed or low-skilled, are positioned as conditional welfare subjects. Interpreted through Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition and the concept of welfare chauvinism, the reform can be understood as part of a broader transformation in which welfare access becomes increasingly tied to work, contribution, legal status and formal membership.

Popular Abstract

This thesis examines how welfare is discussed in the policy process surrounding ‘bidragsreformen’, the new proposed Swedish social benefit reform. The focus is on one part of the reform: the proposed qualification requirements for social insurance benefits and financial assistance. These requirements concern who should have access to certain welfare benefits, under what conditions, and after how long. Sweden has historically been associated with a relatively universal welfare state, where social protection has been broadly connected to residence, work and social citizenship. In recent years, however, welfare, migration and integration have become increasingly politicised. The reform analysed in this thesis is presented by the Swedish Government as a way to reduce welfare dependency, strengthen incentives to work and protect the legitimacy of the welfare system. The thesis uses discourse analysis, mainly based on Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model. This means that the study examines not only what the policy documents say, but also how they say it, what assumptions they rely on, and how the language used connects to broader social and political changes. The main material consists of the governmental committee directive Dir. 2023:149 (Socialdepartementet, 2023) and the Swedish Government Official Report SOU 2025:53. The analysis shows that welfare is increasingly constructed as something that must be earned through residence, work, contribution and ‘individual effort’. Welfare generosity is presented as a potential problem because it is said to risk creating dependency, weakening work incentives and attracting migration. In this way, access to welfare becomes connected to behaviour, responsibility and belonging. The thesis also shows that different groups are constructed differently in the reform discourse. Third-country nationals, especially those who are unemployed or low-skilled, are positioned as a group whose access to welfare needs to be delayed or restricted. Economically active and highly skilled migrants are represented more positively, since they are expected to contribute to the welfare state. Using Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition, the thesis argues that these constructions matter not only materially, but also socially. Access to welfare is not only about income; it is also about being recognised as a full member of society. The thesis concludes that ‘bidragsreformen’ reflects a broader transformation of the Swedish welfare state, where welfare is increasingly constructed as conditional, earned and tied to contribution.

• author: Larsson, Vilma
• supervisor: Fredrik Sandberg
• organization: Sociology; School of Social Work; Department of Sociology
• course: WPMM42 20261
• year: 2026
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Social Sciences
• keywords: welfare state transformation, discourse analysis, welfare chauvinism, recognition, social rights, migration, Sweden
• language: English
• id: 9241602
• date added to LUP: 2026-06-22 10:37:52
• date last changed: 2026-06-22 10:37:52