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Collaboration, Lone-wolfs and Returners – Framing Terrorism in Swedish Counter-Terrorism Policies

Edgren, Hanna LU (2018) SOCM04 20172
Sociology
Abstract
Whereas a lot of research on social problems has focused on understanding them as objective conditions, the purpose of this study is to examine how terrorism is framed in three Swedish policies for countering terrorism. The three Swedish policies for countering terrorism, included in this study, were published between 2008-2015, and are important platforms wherein the framing of terrorism as a social problem takes place. Drawing on Donileen R. Loseke’s perspective on social problems, I have examined the human activity of social problems work; this involves looking at how the parameters of the condition is set, and how meaning is created within three frames: the diagnostic, motivational, and prognostic frame. By analyzing processes of... (More)
Whereas a lot of research on social problems has focused on understanding them as objective conditions, the purpose of this study is to examine how terrorism is framed in three Swedish policies for countering terrorism. The three Swedish policies for countering terrorism, included in this study, were published between 2008-2015, and are important platforms wherein the framing of terrorism as a social problem takes place. Drawing on Donileen R. Loseke’s perspective on social problems, I have examined the human activity of social problems work; this involves looking at how the parameters of the condition is set, and how meaning is created within three frames: the diagnostic, motivational, and prognostic frame. By analyzing processes of meaning-making, I have shed light on how claim-makers, in a process termed “piggybacking”, make the so-called “new” terrorism seem familiar (notwithstanding the prefix of “new”) by linking it to an already established problem, namely the “old” terrorism. It is argued that the narrative of terrorism encompasses elements of vagueness, the construction of identities, and a moral dimension, since it entails ideas pertaining to desirable and undesirable lifestyles. I have found that the inherent vagueness of the policies is not necessarily problematic. I, rather, suggest that vagueness – in a politically charged context as that of terrorism – may be viewed as an asset in that it enables complexity. Additionally, the watchword, collaboration, signifies a development, in which the responsibility for crime (terror) prevention and security are re-articulated. The notion of collaboration refers to the shared undertaking of terror prevention, involving both non-state and state actors. Within this multi-actor approach, which is closely linked to the prevention of “early initiatives”, structural accounts of terrorism are increasingly overshadowed by individually-orientated explanations. Furthermore, in light of the British academic literature on counter-terrorism, the study at hand also comprises reflections upon the potential pitfalls of the preventive outlook as to terrorism in Sweden. (Less)
Popular Abstract (Swedish)
Den här uppsatsen handlar om hur terrorism framställs i tre svenska policydokument publicerade mellan 2008-15. Utgångspunkten är det samhällsvetenskapliga perspektivet socialkonstruktivism. Enligt detta perspektiv är verkligheten, eller delar därav, en produkt av interaktionen människor emellan. Företeelser som till exempel identitet, förstås således inte som naturliga eller förutbestämda, utan snarare som socialt skapade. I uppsatsen analyserar jag huvudsakligen hur terrorism som socialt problem konstrueras i tre nationella, svenska, counter-terrorismstrategier (som syftar till att bekämpa terrorism). Utöver denna frågeställning, har jag även undersökt om det finns några skillnader i hur terrorism framställs i de olika strategierna och... (More)
Den här uppsatsen handlar om hur terrorism framställs i tre svenska policydokument publicerade mellan 2008-15. Utgångspunkten är det samhällsvetenskapliga perspektivet socialkonstruktivism. Enligt detta perspektiv är verkligheten, eller delar därav, en produkt av interaktionen människor emellan. Företeelser som till exempel identitet, förstås således inte som naturliga eller förutbestämda, utan snarare som socialt skapade. I uppsatsen analyserar jag huvudsakligen hur terrorism som socialt problem konstrueras i tre nationella, svenska, counter-terrorismstrategier (som syftar till att bekämpa terrorism). Utöver denna frågeställning, har jag även undersökt om det finns några skillnader i hur terrorism framställs i de olika strategierna och vilka lösningar som föreslås i dessa samt hur den svenska preventiva hållningen gällande terrorism kan förstås i ljuset av akademisk, brittisk, counter-terrorismlitteratur.
För att besvara den första frågeställningen använder jag mig av Donileen R. Losekes perspektiv på sociala problem. I skapandet av sociala problem, vilket Loseke refererar till som social problems work, finns å ena sidan de personer som via påståenden och uttalanden tillskriver ett fenomen mening och framställer det som viktigt (claim-makers), och å den andra de personer som dessa påståenden och uttalanden syftar till att övertyga, det vill säga allmänheten (the aduience). Loseke identifierar fyra inramningar genom vilka processer av meningsskapande belyses. I den första inramningen, grounds, redovisas fakta. I den andra, diagnostic frame, besvaras frågan: Vad är det som orsakar problemet? I den tredje, motivational frame, konstrueras problemet som viktigt och oroväckande via appeller till emotioner och logik. I den fjärde och avslutande inramningen ges förslag på tänkbara problemlösningar. Med hjälp av Losekes teoretiska ramverk har jag åskådliggjort hur terrorism framställs dels som en förgrening av ett redan etablerat socialt problem (”piggybacking”), dels som ett allvarligt och ständigt föränderligt hot. Jag har även påvisat hur identiteter konstrueras och jag har dessutom noterat vagheter i strategierna, samt reflekterat kring hur dessa vagheter kan förstås. Därutöver har jag även identifierat en utveckling varigenom ansvaret för brottsprevention (terrorprevention) förläggs till ”hela samhället”. Gällande förändringar strategierna emellan har jag utifrån Ingrid Sahlins tankar om brottsprevention kastat ljus över hur en mer generell prevention - i allt högre grad - kommit att ersättas av mer selektiv sådan. Likaså har samhälleliga, strukturella förklaringsmodeller hamnat allt mer i skymundan till förmån för mer individorienterade förklaringsmodeller. Mot bakgrund av den brittiska litteraturen om counter-terrorismens oroväckande implikationer har jag, i det svenska materialet, uppmärksammat liknande tendenser, till exempel normaliseringen av exceptionella åtgärder. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Edgren, Hanna LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOCM04 20172
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Terrorism, Counter-terrorism, Collaboration, Lone-wolfs, Policy analysis, Social problem
language
English
id
8933498
date added to LUP
2018-01-30 14:29:07
date last changed
2018-01-30 14:29:07
@misc{8933498,
  abstract     = {{Whereas a lot of research on social problems has focused on understanding them as objective conditions, the purpose of this study is to examine how terrorism is framed in three Swedish policies for countering terrorism. The three Swedish policies for countering terrorism, included in this study, were published between 2008-2015, and are important platforms wherein the framing of terrorism as a social problem takes place. Drawing on Donileen R. Loseke’s perspective on social problems, I have examined the human activity of social problems work; this involves looking at how the parameters of the condition is set, and how meaning is created within three frames: the diagnostic, motivational, and prognostic frame. By analyzing processes of meaning-making, I have shed light on how claim-makers, in a process termed “piggybacking”, make the so-called “new” terrorism seem familiar (notwithstanding the prefix of “new”) by linking it to an already established problem, namely the “old” terrorism. It is argued that the narrative of terrorism encompasses elements of vagueness, the construction of identities, and a moral dimension, since it entails ideas pertaining to desirable and undesirable lifestyles. I have found that the inherent vagueness of the policies is not necessarily problematic. I, rather, suggest that vagueness – in a politically charged context as that of terrorism – may be viewed as an asset in that it enables complexity. Additionally, the watchword, collaboration, signifies a development, in which the responsibility for crime (terror) prevention and security are re-articulated. The notion of collaboration refers to the shared undertaking of terror prevention, involving both non-state and state actors. Within this multi-actor approach, which is closely linked to the prevention of “early initiatives”, structural accounts of terrorism are increasingly overshadowed by individually-orientated explanations. Furthermore, in light of the British academic literature on counter-terrorism, the study at hand also comprises reflections upon the potential pitfalls of the preventive outlook as to terrorism in Sweden.}},
  author       = {{Edgren, Hanna}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Collaboration, Lone-wolfs and Returners – Framing Terrorism in Swedish Counter-Terrorism Policies}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}