MEDBORGARSKAPETS DISKURSER En kritisk analys av statens definitioner av tillhörighet i svenska offentliga utredningar från 2000-2025.

Sammanfattning

Citizenship is a fundamental political concept that defines both inclusion and exclusion withinmodern states. This study examines how citizenship is discursively constructed in Swedish statepolicy and how the language has changed between 2000-2025. Focusing on government officialreports on citizenship, the study uses CDA to examine how problems are formulated, andsolutions are justified by policy texts. The analysis is guided by theories of civic turn and civicintegration, which emphasize the growing conditionality of citizenship in Europe. The findingsshow a gradual but clear shift in how citizenship is framed. Previous research predominantlydescribed citizenship as a right linked to residence and participation, whereas later reportsincreasingly portray citizenship as something that must be earned through responsibility andadaptation. Citizenship is no longer primarily presented as the outcome of successfulintegration, but as a tool used by the state to evaluate and regulate individuals through criteriarelated to work, self-sufficiency, language, and moral conduct. The study also demonstrateshow language redefines the balance of power between the state and the individual. Over time,the state increasingly positions itself as the authority that sets conditions and evaluateseligibility, while individuals are expected to demonstrate responsibility and adherence tosocietal norms. By analyzing these discursive shifts, the study contributes to European studiesby showing how broader ideas about conditional citizenship are translated into national policydevelopment, and how citizenship is transformed not only through laws, but through language.