Swedish fear of the Russian bear - A discourse analysis of the debate about the status of the national defence in newspapers in Sweden during spring 2013

Abstract: By using Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s discourse theory, the debate about military spending and the state of the Swedish national defence is examined. The material used is newspapers in Sweden and the period of interest is December 2012-May 2013. The discourse that is discernible in the debate is deconstructed by exposing the chain of equivalence that establishes meaning within it. The conclusion that is drawn is that the national defence-discourse is constructed with Russia as a defining component. It is constructed as having an impact on Swedish security and the capacity of its national defence.