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Medborgarskapets villkor och gränser - En diskursanalys av juridiska och politiska föreställningar om medborgarskap i Sverige

Riedenfalk, Alice LU and Kyrkander, Patricia LU (2025) GNVK22 20251
Department of Gender Studies
Abstract
This essay examines how citizenship is constructed and used in contemporary Swedish political discourse and legal practice. Drawing on poststructuralist, postcolonial and feminist perspectives, we analyse selected political policy documents and court rulings from the Migration Court of Appeal. Using two complementary tools of discourse analysis – “What’s the Problem Represented to be?” (WPR) approach and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) – we explore how discursive representations of ‘the good citizen’ are formed and how these ideals shape who is positioned as desirable, deserving or deficient in relation to the nation-state. Our findings suggest that citizenship is framed not only as a legal status, but as a moral and cultural achievement... (More)
This essay examines how citizenship is constructed and used in contemporary Swedish political discourse and legal practice. Drawing on poststructuralist, postcolonial and feminist perspectives, we analyse selected political policy documents and court rulings from the Migration Court of Appeal. Using two complementary tools of discourse analysis – “What’s the Problem Represented to be?” (WPR) approach and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) – we explore how discursive representations of ‘the good citizen’ are formed and how these ideals shape who is positioned as desirable, deserving or deficient in relation to the nation-state. Our findings suggest that citizenship is framed not only as a legal status, but as a moral and cultural achievement tied to specific behaviours, values, and origins. This framing contributes to the production and legitimisation of boundaries between insiders and outsiders where migrants are positioned in stratified ways. By applying concepts of civic stratification, we show how legal and political texts help sustain unequal access to full membership in the national community. Ultimately, the essay highlights how citizenship functions as a regulatory tool that reinforces power structures and normative assumptions rooted in both colonial legacies and contemporary political rationalities. (Less)
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author
Riedenfalk, Alice LU and Kyrkander, Patricia LU
supervisor
organization
course
GNVK22 20251
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Citizenship, Discourse analysis, Immigration policy, Legal practice, Gender studies, Medborgarskap, Diskursanalys, Migrationspolitik, Rättstillämpning, Genusvetenskap
language
Swedish
id
9211593
date added to LUP
2025-09-03 16:13:36
date last changed
2025-09-03 16:13:36
@misc{9211593,
  abstract     = {{This essay examines how citizenship is constructed and used in contemporary Swedish political discourse and legal practice. Drawing on poststructuralist, postcolonial and feminist perspectives, we analyse selected political policy documents and court rulings from the Migration Court of Appeal. Using two complementary tools of discourse analysis – “What’s the Problem Represented to be?” (WPR) approach and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) – we explore how discursive representations of ‘the good citizen’ are formed and how these ideals shape who is positioned as desirable, deserving or deficient in relation to the nation-state. Our findings suggest that citizenship is framed not only as a legal status, but as a moral and cultural achievement tied to specific behaviours, values, and origins. This framing contributes to the production and legitimisation of boundaries between insiders and outsiders where migrants are positioned in stratified ways. By applying concepts of civic stratification, we show how legal and political texts help sustain unequal access to full membership in the national community. Ultimately, the essay highlights how citizenship functions as a regulatory tool that reinforces power structures and normative assumptions rooted in both colonial legacies and contemporary political rationalities.}},
  author       = {{Riedenfalk, Alice and Kyrkander, Patricia}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Medborgarskapets villkor och gränser - En diskursanalys av juridiska och politiska föreställningar om medborgarskap i Sverige}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}