The Political Elites’ Discourse of Right-Wing Populist Parties in Denmark and Sweden
Authors
Bekke, Mia Lund ; Persson, Denise Helt
Term
4. term
Publication year
2015
Pages
99
Abstract
Højrepopulistiske partier har fået voksende opbakning i både Danmark og Sverige. Meget forskning ser på disse partier, men overser til dels, hvor vigtigt det er, hvordan de etablerede partier accepterer eller afviser deres tilstedeværelse i national politik. Denne afhandling undersøger derfor, hvordan de politiske systemer i Danmark og Sverige har reageret på højrepopulistiske partier, særligt fordi landene ligner hinanden politisk, socialt og økonomisk, men alligevel har udviklet forskellige reaktioner på Dansk Folkeparti og Sverigedemokraterna. Studiet er en komparativ caseundersøgelse af den politiske elite i de to lande. Det bygger på en dokumentanalyse af relevante udtalelser fra Socialdemokraterne, Venstre (Danmark) og Moderaterna (Sverige), som i denne afhandling repræsenterer den politiske elite. Som teoretisk ramme anvendes diskursteori (Laclau og Mouffe, suppleret af Fairclough), forstået som studiet af, hvordan sprog og offentlige debatter former politik. Da diskursteorien kan være diffus i praksis, definerer afhandlingen eksplicit, hvordan de centrale begreber anvendes. For at afgrænse materialet fokuserer analysen på indvandringspolitik, da højrepopulistiske partier i høj grad er kendetegnet ved deres kritik af indvandring. Der inddrages også direkte udtalelser om de højrepopulistiske partier. Med dette fokus undersøger studiet fire komponenter, organiseret som to modsætningspar: multikulturalisme versus nationalisme og politisk korrekthed versus åben debat. Analysen viser, at disse dimensioner i høj grad påvirker, om den politiske elite i Danmark og Sverige accepterer eller afviser de højrepopulistiske partier. Afhandlingen bidrager empirisk til diskursforskningen og viser, at tydeligt formulerede begreber kan gøre diskursteori mere anvendelig i komparative, empiriske analyser.
Right-wing populist parties have grown in support in both Denmark and Sweden. Much research examines these parties, but it often overlooks how established parties accept or reject their presence in national politics. This dissertation therefore studies how the political systems in Denmark and Sweden have responded to right-wing populist parties, an especially interesting question because the two countries are similar politically, socially, and economically, yet have shown different reactions to the Danish People’s Party and the Sweden Democrats. The study uses a comparative case design focusing on the political elite in both countries. It is based on document analysis of relevant statements from the Social Democrats, the Liberal Party in Denmark, and the Moderates in Sweden, which in this dissertation represent the political elite. The theoretical framework is discourse theory (Laclau and Mouffe, supplemented by Fairclough), understood here as the study of how language and public debate shape politics. Because discourse theory can be diffuse in practice, the dissertation explicitly defines how its key concepts are used. To narrow the scope, the analysis concentrates on immigration policy, since right-wing populist parties are largely defined by their criticism of immigration, and it also considers direct statements about these parties. With this focus, the study examines four components organized into two opposing pairs: multiculturalism versus nationalism and political correctness versus open debate. The analysis finds that these dimensions strongly influence whether the political elite in Denmark and Sweden accept or reject right-wing populist parties. The dissertation offers an empirical contribution to discourse studies and shows that clearly formulated concepts can help make discourse theory more usable in empirical, comparative research.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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