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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
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The Discursive constructions of the Somali minority in the Danish media.

Author

Term

4. term

Publication year

2019

Submitted on

Pages

36

Abstract

Specialet undersøger, hvordan danske medier diskursivt konstruerer den somaliske minoritet, med afsæt i en fornyet debat efter TV 2’s dækning af somaliske kvinder i Vollsmose. Problemformuleringen er: Hvordan konstruerer danske medier den somaliske minoritet, og i hvilket omfang kan denne konstruktion forklares af den politiske kontekst? Empirisk analyseres artikler fra landsdækkende medier i de senere år med fokus på somaliere, integration og hjemsendelse. Metodisk kombinerer studiet induktive og deduktive tilgange i en Diskurshistorisk tilgang (DHA), informeret af begreber som glokalisering, sikkerhedsliggørelse og integration. Tekstanalyser på ordniveau, understøttet af Nvivo, identificerer referentielle benævnelser, predikation og overleksikalisering, som efterfølgende kontekstualiseres historisk og politisk. Analysen viser, at medierne ofte anvender negative strategier for benævnelse og predikation, der socialt konstruerer somaliere som 1) kriminelle, 2) kulturelt uforenelige og 3) en byrde for samfundet. I den samtidige politiske kontekst hænger disse konstruktioner sammen med en sikkerhedsliggørelse af migration, der flytter emnet fra politik til sikkerhed og muliggør legitimering af krav om hjemsendelse gennem en tydelig ‘os/dem’-opdeling. Specialet bidrager med en nuanceret forståelse af samspillet mellem mediediskurser og politiske dynamikker i den danske debat om integration og hjemsendelse.

This thesis examines how Danish media discursively construct the Somali minority, set against renewed attention following TV 2’s coverage of Somali women in Vollsmose. The guiding questions are: How are Somalis constructed in Danish media, and to what extent can these constructions be explained by the political context? Empirically, the study analyzes articles from national outlets in recent years that focus on Somalis, integration, and refoulement. Methodologically, it combines inductive and deductive approaches within a Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA), informed by concepts such as glocalization, securitization, and integration. Word-level textual analysis, supported by Nvivo, identifies referential nomination, predication, and overlexicalization and situates these findings in their historical-political context. The analysis shows that media frequently deploy negative referential and predicational strategies that socially construct Somalis as 1) criminals, 2) culturally incompatible, and 3) a burden on society. In the concurrent political context, these constructions align with a securitization of migration that shifts the topic from politics to security, enabling the legitimation of calls for refoulement through a pronounced ‘us/them’ divide. The thesis offers a nuanced account of how media framings intersect with political dynamics in Denmark’s debates on integration and return.

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