"Sorry for the hostility" - An affective assemblage analysis of migration-related resistance in Denmark from 1983 to 2021
Author
Jensen, Ingeborg Buch
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-10-15
Pages
70
Abstract
Danske migrationspolitikker har ændret sig markant gennem de sidste fire årtier. Udlændingeloven fra 1983 blev anset som en af Europas mest liberale, mens senere reformer gradvist har begrænset migranters rettigheder og mobilitet. Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan affekt – forstået som følelser og stemninger, der får mennesker til at handle – har formet udviklingen i migrationsrelateret modstand i Danmark fra 1983 til 2021. For at forstå disse processer bruger afhandlingen to teoretiske greb: assemblager (foranderlige netværk af mennesker, institutioner, medier og steder) og affektive økonomier (hvordan følelser cirkulerer i samfundet og klæber sig til bestemte grupper). Metodisk anvendes Extended Case Method, en kvalitativ tilgang, hvor konkrete sager følges tæt over tid og sættes i en bredere sammenhæng. Analysen tager udgangspunkt i tre perioder med intens konflikt: urolighederne i Kalundborg i 1985, en kirkeasylbesættelse i 2009 og regerings- og modreklamekampagner i 2015. Hver begivenhed udvides til bredere migrationsrelaterede assemblager for at undersøge, hvordan affekt bevæger sig mellem statslige aktører og græsrødder, og hvordan det former både politiske og sociale former for modstand. Resultaterne viser, at følelser som frygt, solidaritet og mistanke spiller en grundlæggende rolle for, hvordan modstand tager form og senere bliver indarbejdet i nationale fortællinger. Over tid er de affektive orienteringer mod migranter skiftet fra lokal ambivalens til institutionaliseret fjendtlighed og betinget medfølelse. Ved at sætte affekt i centrum giver afhandlingen et udvidet blik på, hvordan social forandring i Danmark opstår gennem samspillet mellem følelser, magt og tilhørsforhold.
Danish migration policies have shifted markedly over the past four decades. The 1983 Aliens Act was seen as one of the most liberal in Europe, while later reforms gradually restricted migrants’ rights and mobility. This thesis examines how affect—understood as the emotions and moods that move people to act—has shaped the evolution of migration-related resistance in Denmark from 1983 to 2021. To make sense of these dynamics, the thesis draws on two concepts: assemblages (fluid networks of people, institutions, media, and places) and affective economies (how emotions circulate in society and stick to particular groups). Methodologically, it uses the Extended Case Method, a qualitative approach that follows concrete cases over time and situates them in a wider context. The analysis focuses on three periods of heightened contention: riots in Kalundborg in 1985, a church asylum occupation in 2009, and government and counter advert campaigns in 2015. Each event is expanded into a broader migration-related assemblage to trace how affect moves between state actors and grassroots, shaping both political and social forms of resistance. Findings show that emotions such as fear, solidarity, and suspicion play a constitutive role in how resistance takes shape and is later absorbed into national narratives. Over time, affective orientations toward migrants have shifted from localized ambivalence to institutionalized hostility and conditional compassion. By placing affect at the center, the thesis offers a broader understanding of how social change in Denmark emerges through the interplay of emotion, power, and belonging.
[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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