Our Peace, Our Prosperity: The Discursive Construction of Contemporary German Development Policy Within the Security- Development Nexus
(2026) SIMZ31 20261Master of Science in Development Studies
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Currently, Germany is the largest provider of official development assistance globally, while simultaneously facing growing domestic financial and political pressure. Against this backdrop, security considerations came to the forefront of German development politics following the federal election in 2025, marking a shift away from previous feminist and rights-based approaches. In this context, the question arises of how contemporary German development policy is currently constructed, especially in relation to security.
This thesis employs a poststructural discourse analysis of state-led German development policy across the 20th and 21st legislative periods (2021-2026), drawing on texts and speeches produced by the Federal Ministry for... (More) - Currently, Germany is the largest provider of official development assistance globally, while simultaneously facing growing domestic financial and political pressure. Against this backdrop, security considerations came to the forefront of German development politics following the federal election in 2025, marking a shift away from previous feminist and rights-based approaches. In this context, the question arises of how contemporary German development policy is currently constructed, especially in relation to security.
This thesis employs a poststructural discourse analysis of state-led German development policy across the 20th and 21st legislative periods (2021-2026), drawing on texts and speeches produced by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and its leadership. The theoretical framework integrates discourse theory, critical security theory and a postcolonial perspective on development. The analysis suggests that German development policy is constructed as a security instrument across three themes: Human Security and Sustainable Development, International Cooperation and Global Positionality as well as State Security and Defense Capacity. Furthermore, increasing domestication, economization and militarization can be observed. Germany shifts from a position as provider of security in development cooperation to contingency on external security provision, revealing the discursive character of the security-development nexus. Simultaneously, coloniality is being continuously reproduced through the articulation of contemporary German development policy. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9249666
- author
- Dudek, Marie Josée LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SIMZ31 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Development Policy, Discourse Analysis, Germany, Security, Coloniality
- language
- English
- id
- 9249666
- date added to LUP
- 2026-09-02 15:31:56
- date last changed
- 2026-09-02 15:31:56
@misc{9249666,
abstract = {{Currently, Germany is the largest provider of official development assistance globally, while simultaneously facing growing domestic financial and political pressure. Against this backdrop, security considerations came to the forefront of German development politics following the federal election in 2025, marking a shift away from previous feminist and rights-based approaches. In this context, the question arises of how contemporary German development policy is currently constructed, especially in relation to security.
This thesis employs a poststructural discourse analysis of state-led German development policy across the 20th and 21st legislative periods (2021-2026), drawing on texts and speeches produced by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and its leadership. The theoretical framework integrates discourse theory, critical security theory and a postcolonial perspective on development. The analysis suggests that German development policy is constructed as a security instrument across three themes: Human Security and Sustainable Development, International Cooperation and Global Positionality as well as State Security and Defense Capacity. Furthermore, increasing domestication, economization and militarization can be observed. Germany shifts from a position as provider of security in development cooperation to contingency on external security provision, revealing the discursive character of the security-development nexus. Simultaneously, coloniality is being continuously reproduced through the articulation of contemporary German development policy.}},
author = {{Dudek, Marie Josée}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Our Peace, Our Prosperity: The Discursive Construction of Contemporary German Development Policy Within the Security- Development Nexus}},
year = {{2026}},
}