Who Belongs in Anti-Racist Denmark? Government Initiatives, National Identity, and Racialised Citizens
Author
El-Jechy, Halla Ehssan
Term
4. term
Publication year
2026
Pages
45
Abstract
This thesis examines how two recent Danish government initiatives on racism—the Agreement on Strengthened Efforts Against Antisemitism (2024) and the Action Plan Against Racism (2025)—(re)construct Danish national identity and what this means for racialised and minoritised citizens. Using a qualitative, comparative poststructural policy analysis inspired by Carol Bacchi’s WPR approach, the study works backward from proposed measures to uncover the implicit problem representations in the policies: how racism is defined, who is positioned as responsible, which harms are made visible or invisible, and what forms of governance are legitimised. The analysis is grounded in intersectionality, critical race theory/critical racism studies, and theories of belonging and boundary-making. The findings show that both policies depict Danishness as fundamentally anti-racist, democratic, and morally coherent, while positioning racism as external, exceptional, or deviant and framing it primarily as individual hostility, hate crime, or extremism rather than as a structural, institutional issue. This allows the state to appear as a neutral protector and manager rather than an actor implicated in reproducing racism. At the same time, antisemitism is treated as an acute threat demanding urgent, protective intervention, whereas racism more broadly is framed as a diffuse, long-term challenge addressed through education, dialogue, and behaviour change. These differences create a hierarchy of racial harms in policy discourse, making some forms of racism seem more urgent and actionable than others. The implications for racialised and minoritised citizens include narrowed political intelligibility of structural and everyday racialisation, constrained opportunities for contestation, and differentiated subject positions as protected victims, learners, or objects of regulation. As a result, inclusion in the national community becomes conditional and uneven. The thesis concludes that current anti-racism initiatives also function as technologies of national self-affirmation that stabilise dominant narratives of Danishness; more transformative change requires re-politicising how racism, national identity, and state responsibility are understood in Danish governance.
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan to nylige danske regeringsinitiativer mod racisme – Aftale om styrkede indsatser mod antisemitisme (2024) og Handlingsplan mod racisme (2025) – (gen)skaber dansk national identitet og hvilke konsekvenser det har for racialiserede og minoriserede borgere. Med en kvalitativ, komparativ poststrukturel policyanalyse inspireret af Carol Bacchis WPR-tilgang arbejdes der baglæns fra de foreslåede tiltag for at afdække de implicitte problemforståelser i politikkerne: hvordan racisme defineres, hvem der gøres ansvarlige, hvilke skader synliggøres eller usynliggøres, og hvilken styring legitimeres. Teoretisk bygger analysen på intersektionalitet, kritisk raceteori/kritiske racismestudier samt teorier om tilhørsforhold og grænsedragning. Afhandlingen viser, at begge politikker fremstiller danskheden som grundlæggende antiracistisk, demokratisk og moralsk sammenhængende, mens racisme positioneres som noget ydre, exceptionelt eller afvigende og primært forstås som individuel fjendtlighed, hadforbrydelser eller ekstremisme frem for et strukturelt problem i institutioner. Staten kan dermed fremstå som neutral beskytter og forvalter snarere end som en aktør, der selv kan medvirke til racisme. Samtidig behandles antisemitisme som en akut trussel, der kræver hurtig, beskyttende indgriben, mens racisme i bredere forstand beskrives som en diffus, langsigtet udfordring, der håndteres gennem oplysning, dialog og adfærdsændring. Denne forskel skaber et hierarki af raciale skader, hvor nogle former for racisme fremstår mere presserende og handlingskrævende end andre. Konsekvenserne for racialiserede og minoriserede borgere er, at strukturel og hverdagslig racialisering bliver mindre politisk forståelig, rum for modstand og forandring indsnævres, og der produceres differentierede positioner som beskyttede ofre, lærende borgere eller objekter for regulering. Inklusion i det nationale fællesskab bliver derved betinget og ujævnt fordelt. Afslutningsvis argumenteres for, at de aktuelle antiracismeinitiativer også fungerer som teknologier til national selvbekræftelse, der stabiliserer dominerende fortællinger om danskhed; mere transformativ bekæmpelse af racisme forudsætter en genpolitisering af forståelser af racisme, national identitet og statens ansvar.
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