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Homelessness - An Individual or Structural Failure? A Discourse Analysis of the Swedish Government Between 1993-2017

Vass, Anna LU (2024) SGEK03 20232
Department of Human Geography
Abstract
Homelessness is one of the crudest manifestations of poverty, and addressing homelessness is thus always urgent. Discourse affects our perception, knowledge and, in the end, policymaking, and hence the perception of what the causes to homelessness are, affect what strategies and policies that are implemented. There has since long been a split in perception on whether homelessness is a result of the individual’s decisions and behaviour, or of structural causes such as in the welfare system and housing market. This study examines the discursive development of the Swedish government, represented by the National Board of Health and Welfare (NBHW) by using the lens of the individual and structural discourse. The NBHW has since 1993 conducted a... (More)
Homelessness is one of the crudest manifestations of poverty, and addressing homelessness is thus always urgent. Discourse affects our perception, knowledge and, in the end, policymaking, and hence the perception of what the causes to homelessness are, affect what strategies and policies that are implemented. There has since long been a split in perception on whether homelessness is a result of the individual’s decisions and behaviour, or of structural causes such as in the welfare system and housing market. This study examines the discursive development of the Swedish government, represented by the National Board of Health and Welfare (NBHW) by using the lens of the individual and structural discourse. The NBHW has since 1993 conducted a national homelessness mapping every six years, and compiled the data into reports. Assuming the concept of discourse as studied by Michel Foucault, this study conducts a Foucauldian Discourse Analysis on the reports in order to study the development of the individual and structural discourse, and how this development reflects today’s practices. The aim is to deepen the understanding of the contemporary governmental homelessness discourse which lay the basis of the homelessness policy development. The findings show that the individual discourse decreases and the structural development increases over time. Furthermore, current practice such as the broader implementation of the ‘Housing First’ strategy and the latest homelessness definition acknowledging homelessness not only as a social issue, but as a housing issue, mirrors this development. (Less)
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author
Vass, Anna LU
supervisor
organization
course
SGEK03 20232
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
homelessness, individual social problems, structural social problems, Housing First, Foucauldian Discourse Analysis, Sweden
language
English
id
9150349
date added to LUP
2024-05-28 15:30:11
date last changed
2024-05-28 15:30:11
@misc{9150349,
  abstract     = {{Homelessness is one of the crudest manifestations of poverty, and addressing homelessness is thus always urgent. Discourse affects our perception, knowledge and, in the end, policymaking, and hence the perception of what the causes to homelessness are, affect what strategies and policies that are implemented. There has since long been a split in perception on whether homelessness is a result of the individual’s decisions and behaviour, or of structural causes such as in the welfare system and housing market. This study examines the discursive development of the Swedish government, represented by the National Board of Health and Welfare (NBHW) by using the lens of the individual and structural discourse. The NBHW has since 1993 conducted a national homelessness mapping every six years, and compiled the data into reports. Assuming the concept of discourse as studied by Michel Foucault, this study conducts a Foucauldian Discourse Analysis on the reports in order to study the development of the individual and structural discourse, and how this development reflects today’s practices. The aim is to deepen the understanding of the contemporary governmental homelessness discourse which lay the basis of the homelessness policy development. The findings show that the individual discourse decreases and the structural development increases over time. Furthermore, current practice such as the broader implementation of the ‘Housing First’ strategy and the latest homelessness definition acknowledging homelessness not only as a social issue, but as a housing issue, mirrors this development.}},
  author       = {{Vass, Anna}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Homelessness - An Individual or Structural Failure? A Discourse Analysis of the Swedish Government Between 1993-2017}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}