The Construction of Security : A Discourse Analysis of Sweden’s Foreign and Security Policy between 2014 and 2023

Abstract: This thesis is conducted as a descriptive single case study to establish empirical knowledge regarding how securitisation is expressed in discourse by the Swedish policymaking elite, in other words “securitising actors”. The thesis takes an ontological approach of interpretivism with a theoretical approach of securitisation theory. Further, by utilising a methodological approach of an inductive method to empirically analyse 44 collected speeches from Folk och Försvars annual national conference and the annual foreign declaration in order to analyse what prominent themes emerged from the discourse. The analysis was conducted through a discourse analysis by applying two analytically driven questions derived from securitisation theory. This is in order to analyse how securitisation was expressed by the securitising actors, and what motivating factors could be identified for the shift from non-alignment to military-alignment in Swedish foreign and security policy. The result of the analysis indicated that with an ongoing security concern in Sweden’s immediate neighbourhood, securitisation was expressed as focusing on an increased national defence. Along with indicating a conflict of interests in Swedish foreign and security policy through the conflict of ideals and interests by breaking Sweden’s long-term tradition of military non-alignment. By this, this thesis aims to contribute to knowledge and to the overarching literature pertaining to discourse and shifts in Swedish foreign and security policy.