The discourse of danger in Denmark (2001-2006), discourse analysis of the Danish cartoon crisis

Abstract: The Danish cartoon crisis was triggered by the publication of twelve cartoons of the prophet Muhammad by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005 and had a significant impact on world politics. This paper tries to understand this crisis using a post-positivist approach to social reality. It asserts that the crisis can be understood discursively by applying the theory of discourse of danger to the Danish context (2001-2006). It analyses the political identity in Denmark, how it is constructed the meaning of “Danishness” and how the “Others” is constituted within this identity. This paper further argues that the cartoon crisis can be understood as a consequence to the domination of the discourse of danger in Denmark, by showing that Muslim immigrants in Denmark and the Islamic culture as a whole is considered a “threat” to the “Danishness”.