"Sorry for the hostility" - An affective assemblage analysis of migration-related resistance in Denmark from 1983 to 2021
Author
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-10-15
Pages
70
Abstract
Migration policies in Denmark have changed significantly over the last four decades. While the 1983 Aliens Act was considered one of the most liberal in Europe, subsequent reforms have gradually restricted migrant rights and mobility. Relating to these policies, this thesis examines how affect has factored into the evolution of migration-related resistance in Denmark from 1983 to 2021. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s conceptualization of assemblages and Ahmed’s framework of affective economies, this thesis explores how emotional forces shape both political and social processes of resistance. Using Extended Case Method, the analysis traces three moments of intensified migration-related contention: Riots in Kalundborg in 1985, a church asylum occupation in 2009, and government and counter advert campaigns in 2015. Through these cases, the thesis extends each event into broader migration-related assemblages to examine how affect circulates between state and grassroots actors over time. The analysis shows that emotions such as fear, solidarity, and suspicion play a constitutive role in how resistance takes form and is reabsorbed into national narratives. Over time, affective orientations towards migrants have shifted from localized ambivalence to institutionalized hostility and conditional compassion. By foregrounding affect as central to the changing dynamics of migration-related resistance, this thesis contributes to an expanded understanding of how social change emerges through the interplay of emotion, power, and belonging in a Danish context.
Keywords
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