The Rationales behind Danish Externalization Visions
Author
Cederholm, Boris
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2023
Pages
40
Abstract
This thesis examines Denmark’s recent policy of externalization—moving asylum processing to reception centers in a third country. Since 2018, the Social Democratic Party has promoted plans to speed up case handling in such centers, and in 2021 the Danish government signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Rwanda. This laid the groundwork for Rwanda to host Denmark’s asylum seekers while their applications are processed, in exchange for compensation. Although the plans are at an early stage and not legally binding, the idea has moved from the margins to the center of political debate. Drawing on Michel Foucault and Carol Bacchi’s WPR approach (What is the problem represented to be?), the thesis explores how refugees are problematized in political discourse. It treats asylum policy as a contest over meanings and examines the arguments, categories, dichotomies, rationales, and taken-for-granted truths that make externalization appear as a solution. The analysis also uses Schneider and Ingram’s framework on categorization in policy design to show how asylum seekers are divided into more or less “deserving” groups. The study investigates how humanitarian and securitization discourses interact, alternately portraying refugees as victims and as threats. The government’s case is advanced through appeals to empathy, morality, compassion, and justice to justify sweeping changes to the international asylum system. The analysis draws on §20 questions in the Danish Parliament, political speeches, and the Social Democratic Party’s 2018 asylum program “Fair and realist.” It shows that current externalization plans rest on entrenched rationales and asks how the “problem” of asylum seekers has been constructed, what logics underpin it, and how this representation has taken hold.
Denne afhandling undersøger Danmarks nyere politik for eksternalisering – at flytte asylbehandlingen til modtagecentre i et tredjeland. Siden 2018 har Socialdemokratiet fremlagt planer om at fremskynde asylsagsbehandlingen i sådanne centre, og i 2021 underskrev den danske regering et ikke-bindende forståelsespapir med Rwanda. Det lagde grunden for, at Rwanda kan huse Danmarks asylansøgere, mens deres sager behandles, mod økonomisk kompensation. Selvom planerne stadig er tidlige og uden juridisk bindende aftaler, er idéen rykket fra debattens periferi til centrum. Afhandlingen trækker på Michel Foucault og Carol Bacchis WPR-tilgang (What is the problem represented to be?) for at undersøge, hvordan flygtninge problematiseres i den politiske debat. Asylområdet forstås som et sprogligt og politisk kampfelt, hvor analyserne gransker argumenter, betydninger, kategorier, modsætningspar, rationaler og taget-for-givet sandheder, der gør eksternalisering fremstå som en løsning. Derudover anvendes Schneider og Ingrams tilgang til kategorisering i politikudformning for at belyse, hvordan asylansøgere inddeles i mere eller mindre “værdige” grupper. Afhandlingen undersøger samspillet mellem humanitære og sikkerhedspolitiske diskurser, der på skift fremstiller flygtninge som ofre og som trusler. Regeringens plan er muliggjort gennem argumenter, der appellerer til empati, moral, medfølelse og retfærdighed for at legitimere vidtgående ændringer af det internationale asylsystem. Analysen bygger på § 20-spørgsmål i Folketinget, politiske taler og Socialdemokratiets asylpolitiske program fra 2018 “Fair and realist.” Resultatet viser, at de nuværende eksternaliseringsplaner hviler på indgroede rationaler; afhandlingen spørger, hvordan “problemet” med asylansøgere er konstrueret, hvilke logikker der bærer det, og hvordan denne problemfremstilling har fået fodfæste.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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