Data Biopolitics for Peace? ‘Peace’ as a Technique of Power for Social Control

Abstract: In light of Sweden’s increased reliance on surveillance for ensuring security within its own borders, as well as the promotion of big data use for the purposes of predictive analyses in support of peacebuilding, these developments warrant critical assessment. This thesis engages in an explanatory critique of the discursive (re-)definitions of peace in 16 officially released online documents of the Government Offices of Sweden against the backdrop of the increasing use of data technology. The study follows a qualitative design and utilises critical discourse analysis as its methodology while employing data biopolitics as a theoretical lens. The thesis argues that the understanding of and focus on peace establishes peace as a violent means of ordering society, whilst constructing and reproducing social relations marked by asymmetric power and knowledge dynamics and epistemic violence. The analysis suggests that the texts’ discursive and social practices indicate an increasingly reproduced focus on peace and security for development by means of social control enabled by various forms of data technology. Finally, the study reflects on the wider socio-cultural implications of the social relations, identities, and the social world envisioned by the texts and suggests potential paths for future research.