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“… men magkänslan sa nånting annat.” Etik och antagonismer i arbetet som polis

Holmgren, Anna LU (2013) GNVK01 20131
Department of Gender Studies
Abstract
In this paper I have examined four police’s views on ethics in relation to their everyday work as civil servants. The theoretical framework is discourse theory, i.e. an understanding of reality structured through discourse, as formulated by Laclau and Mouffe, as well as an understanding of Othering and Racialization as structuring for society on both a national and international level. I have also presented a theoretical concept for how civil servants can relate to laws that they disagree with. The thesis has as its starting point a notion of the paradoxical position and task of the police as an institution, to both protect and suppress. This dual function is reflected in the government’s approach to undocumented immigrants, a group that... (More)
In this paper I have examined four police’s views on ethics in relation to their everyday work as civil servants. The theoretical framework is discourse theory, i.e. an understanding of reality structured through discourse, as formulated by Laclau and Mouffe, as well as an understanding of Othering and Racialization as structuring for society on both a national and international level. I have also presented a theoretical concept for how civil servants can relate to laws that they disagree with. The thesis has as its starting point a notion of the paradoxical position and task of the police as an institution, to both protect and suppress. This dual function is reflected in the government’s approach to undocumented immigrants, a group that has been given certain civic rights but that is also, through the project Reva, being more actively pursued for deportation by the police. In my material, interviews conducted with four informants, I found three themes that I have structured the analysis around. In the first part of the analysis I show that everyday police work contains antagonisms and tensions; to deal with these antagonisms various strategies are used, two of which I examine closer. One relies on racialization, the other on the concept of professionalism. Instead of ethics, professionalism and racialization are used to handle situations that otherwise might be considered ethically problematical by the informants. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Holmgren, Anna LU
supervisor
organization
course
GNVK01 20131
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
etik, polisen, gender, racialization, police, ethics, rasifiering, genus
language
Swedish
id
4016640
date added to LUP
2013-09-20 09:56:42
date last changed
2013-09-20 09:56:42
@misc{4016640,
  abstract     = {{In this paper I have examined four police’s views on ethics in relation to their everyday work as civil servants. The theoretical framework is discourse theory, i.e. an understanding of reality structured through discourse, as formulated by Laclau and Mouffe, as well as an understanding of Othering and Racialization as structuring for society on both a national and international level. I have also presented a theoretical concept for how civil servants can relate to laws that they disagree with. The thesis has as its starting point a notion of the paradoxical position and task of the police as an institution, to both protect and suppress. This dual function is reflected in the government’s approach to undocumented immigrants, a group that has been given certain civic rights but that is also, through the project Reva, being more actively pursued for deportation by the police. In my material, interviews conducted with four informants, I found three themes that I have structured the analysis around. In the first part of the analysis I show that everyday police work contains antagonisms and tensions; to deal with these antagonisms various strategies are used, two of which I examine closer. One relies on racialization, the other on the concept of professionalism. Instead of ethics, professionalism and racialization are used to handle situations that otherwise might be considered ethically problematical by the informants.}},
  author       = {{Holmgren, Anna}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“… men magkänslan sa nånting annat.” Etik och antagonismer i arbetet som polis}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}