Between Securitisation and Solidarity. Institutional Logics and the Migration-Development Nexus in ActionAid Denmark's Implementation of the Danish-Arab Partnership Programme
Author
Jessen, Marie Buchholt
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2026
Abstract
Specialet undersøger, hvordan og i hvilket omfang Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke/ActionAid Danmark (AADK) medierer mellem Danidas institutionelle logik og sin egen ved implementeringen af det Dansk-Arabiske Partnerskabsprogram (DAPP) i migrations-udviklings-nexusset, hvor udviklingsbistand i stigende grad bruges til migrationsstyring. Med Bacchis “What is the Problem Represented to be?”-tilgang, teori om institutionelle logikker og begrebet mægling/brokerage spores, hvordan strategiske problemrepræsentationer omsættes til udviklingspraksis. Analysen viser, at Danida fremfører en sikkerhedsgjort logik, der legitimerer bistand som et middel til at begrænse migration, mens AADK artikulerer en solidaritets- og rettighedsbaseret logik, der forstår fordrivelse som en strukturel uretfærdighed. På trods af forskellene muliggøres samarbejde af delte antagelser—særligt fokus på unge som forandringsagenter—der fungerer som epistemiske forbindelser, så forskellige logikker kan sameksistere i ét program. Studiet viser AADKs mæglerrolle: organisationen oversætter donorens migrationsmål til ungdomsrettede indsatser om empowerment og beskæftigelsesparathed og fremhæver selektivt egne logikker i implementeringen, mens Danidas sikkerhedsgjorte logik forbliver på det strategiske plan. Overordnet demonstrerer specialet, at institutionelle logikker ikke bevæger sig lineært fra strategi til praksis, men aktivt medieres af NGO’er, der opererer under strukturelle begrænsninger i transnationale kontekster præget af sikkerhedsgørelse og eksternalisering.
This thesis examines how and to what extent ActionAid Denmark (AADK) mediates between Danida’s institutional logic and its own in the implementation of the Danish-Arab Partnership Programme (DAPP), situated within the migration–development nexus where development aid is increasingly mobilized for migration management. Using Bacchi’s “What is the Problem Represented to be?” approach, institutional logics theory, and the concept of brokerage, the study traces how strategic problem representations are translated into development practice. It finds that Danida advances a securitized logic that justifies aid as a means to curb migration, while AADK promotes a solidarity- and rights-based logic that understands displacement as a structural injustice. Despite these differences, cooperation is enabled by shared assumptions—especially the framing of young people as agents of change—which act as epistemic links allowing divergent logics to coexist within a single programme. The analysis shows AADK’s brokering role: it translates donor migration objectives into youth-focused initiatives on empowerment and employability, selectively foregrounding its own logic in implementation while Danida’s securitized logic remains at the strategic level. Overall, the study demonstrates that institutional logics do not travel linearly from strategy to practice but are actively mediated by NGOs working under structural constraints in transnational contexts marked by securitisation and externalisation agendas.
[This summary has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project (PDF)]
Documents