Returning Foreign Fighters to Denmark & Sweden: The Enemies of the State?
(2020) SIMV10 20201Graduate School
Master of Science in Global Studies
- Abstract
- Denmark and Sweden, as the rest of Europe, face a dilemma of whether to repatriate their citizens who travelled to the so-called Islamic State, from the wretched refugee camps in Syria and Iraq after its fall, and how to deal with those already returned.
This thesis examines the two countries’ policy-approaches and discourses to the issue of foreign fighters (FF’s) through a comparative case study, mainly focusing on Denmark, and empirical analysis of statements on FF’s from key political actors, using the social scientific method of critical discourse analysis. Moreover, it theoretically examines how securitization processes, national imageries, as well as exercises of governmentality, as a response to public fears and ontological... (More) - Denmark and Sweden, as the rest of Europe, face a dilemma of whether to repatriate their citizens who travelled to the so-called Islamic State, from the wretched refugee camps in Syria and Iraq after its fall, and how to deal with those already returned.
This thesis examines the two countries’ policy-approaches and discourses to the issue of foreign fighters (FF’s) through a comparative case study, mainly focusing on Denmark, and empirical analysis of statements on FF’s from key political actors, using the social scientific method of critical discourse analysis. Moreover, it theoretically examines how securitization processes, national imageries, as well as exercises of governmentality, as a response to public fears and ontological insecurities, can explain underlying mechanisms for, especially the Danish governments’ approaches. The main finding was that Denmark has had a stronger political focus and approach to FF’s than Sweden, visible in more and harsher security measures, as well as stronger discourses. These have implicated an ‘othering’ and suppressing of the rights of the perceived ‘internal enemy’ in Denmark, the FF’s, using emotional appeals and realist war-narratives. This can finally be interpreted as an attempt to reinforce the power of the political establishment and the fantasy of a ‘stable’ Danish identity. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- This thesis has found that Denmark has had a harsher approach to its citizens, who travelled to ISIS as foreign fighters (FF’s), than Sweden, exemplified in their recent implementation of the measure allowing the state to strip them of their citizenship.
Using comparative case studies of Denmark as a major case, and Sweden as a minor case for comparison, to make an empirical critical discourse analysis of political statements from prime ministers and other key ministers for both countries, I have examined the discourses around FF’s for both countries, as well as how they are linked together with the policies.
The analysis shows that Denmark’s harsher approach is also visible in the binary discourse used about FF’s, which is exemplified... (More) - This thesis has found that Denmark has had a harsher approach to its citizens, who travelled to ISIS as foreign fighters (FF’s), than Sweden, exemplified in their recent implementation of the measure allowing the state to strip them of their citizenship.
Using comparative case studies of Denmark as a major case, and Sweden as a minor case for comparison, to make an empirical critical discourse analysis of political statements from prime ministers and other key ministers for both countries, I have examined the discourses around FF’s for both countries, as well as how they are linked together with the policies.
The analysis shows that Denmark’s harsher approach is also visible in the binary discourse used about FF’s, which is exemplified in these statements by key Danish political actors from my analysis; as being ‘”brutalised fanatics”, who are “prone to violence” and have “turned their back on Denmark” to “battle under the flag of the extremists” and “go to war against democracy and freedom”, “against us and all the values we stand for”. This discourse is connected to the practices and helps legitimise them to the public
Sweden has, in comparison had a harder time initiating measures against FF’s, resulting in fewer measures, implemented very late and not working retroactively, making them less useful to prosecute FF’s. Moreover, Sweden’s discourse around FF’s is much less harsh than Denmark’s, which can theoretically be interpreted as Denmark feeling a bigger need to exclude FF’s to protect Denmark and its values, which PM Mette Frederiksen explicitly expresses in relation to new policies against FF’s:
“I think that one of the most important tasks as a government is to take care of Denmark and take care of the Danes and do everything we can to prevent and minimise the threats that could come to us internally and externally, and we take that seriously” (Frederiksen in Danish Ministry of State 2020b).
The thesis thereby reveals some very traditional understandings of security in both countries, but especially in Denmark, when it comes to FF’s, seeing them as ‘enemies of the state’ who are against Danish values and can be fought with hard measures. However, this view has problematic implications as the Islamist violent extremism of ISIS is ideological, and can therefore be counter-productive, as it can make FF’s feel like they are no longer welcome in Denmark, potentially increasing the risk that these individuals radicalise further and become an even larger threat to society. Therefore, this thesis, by comparing and criticising both the Swedish and Danish approach, contributes with new and interesting aspects in terms of how to rethink the strategies towards FF’s. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9013797
- author
- Flyger, Cianna LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- A critical security perspective on Denmark and Sweden’s approaches to returning foreign fighters from ISIS
- course
- SIMV10 20201
- year
- 2020
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Islamic state, foreign fighters, Denmark, Sweden, policy, discourses, critical security studies
- language
- English
- id
- 9013797
- date added to LUP
- 2020-06-22 16:47:04
- date last changed
- 2020-06-22 16:47:04
@misc{9013797,
abstract = {{Denmark and Sweden, as the rest of Europe, face a dilemma of whether to repatriate their citizens who travelled to the so-called Islamic State, from the wretched refugee camps in Syria and Iraq after its fall, and how to deal with those already returned.
This thesis examines the two countries’ policy-approaches and discourses to the issue of foreign fighters (FF’s) through a comparative case study, mainly focusing on Denmark, and empirical analysis of statements on FF’s from key political actors, using the social scientific method of critical discourse analysis. Moreover, it theoretically examines how securitization processes, national imageries, as well as exercises of governmentality, as a response to public fears and ontological insecurities, can explain underlying mechanisms for, especially the Danish governments’ approaches. The main finding was that Denmark has had a stronger political focus and approach to FF’s than Sweden, visible in more and harsher security measures, as well as stronger discourses. These have implicated an ‘othering’ and suppressing of the rights of the perceived ‘internal enemy’ in Denmark, the FF’s, using emotional appeals and realist war-narratives. This can finally be interpreted as an attempt to reinforce the power of the political establishment and the fantasy of a ‘stable’ Danish identity.}},
author = {{Flyger, Cianna}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Returning Foreign Fighters to Denmark & Sweden: The Enemies of the State?}},
year = {{2020}},
}