Från folkhem till fruktan : Sverigedemokraternas trygghetsbegrepp 1988–2005

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines the conceptual history of safety (trygghet) in the rhetoric of the Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) during the period 1988–2005, towards the end of which period the term was adopted as part of the party’s slogan. By employing Reinhart Koselleck and Quentin Skinner’s theories on conceptual history and the dynamics of concepts as sites of political and social conflict, the study investigates how the concept was articulated and redefined within the context of the party's evolution from its roots in nazi ideology to a more mainstream right-wing populist movement.The analysis is based on all issues of the party bulletin SD-Kuriren from the period, using a method of related terms and counter-concepts to trace diachronic changes. This study finds that the meaning of the concept of safety in Sweden Democrat rhetoric can be broken down into seven themes of ethnonational homogeneity, law and order, welfare, family, tradition, women’s security, and anti-establishmentarianism. A diachronic shift is observed whereby the concept is deployed less in relation to concrete policy and more as a signifier of a position in an abstract ideological struggle. The results shed light on how conceptual history can reveal shifts as well as continuities in ideological strategies and reveals the broader cultural tensions, as seen through the eyes of a political party within Swedish society during this transformative period.