När familjen blir politik : En analys av hur medier och regeringen framställer nyheten om migrationsminister Johan Forssells sons kopplingar till högerextrema miljöer

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines how political responsibility and legitimacy are discursively constructed in the aftermath of the media coverage concerning Sweden’s Minister for Migration and his son’s alleged connections to right-wing extremist groups. The study focuses on how the boundary between private and political responsibility is negotiated in public discourse, and how issues of security and trust are articulated by political actors and the media. Drawing on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as developed by Norman Fairclough, the study analyses journalistic texts published in major Swedish news outlets and social media posts made by ministers in the Swedish government. The material consists of news articles, opinion pieces, a TV interview and social media posts. Through an analysis of textual, discursive, and social practices, the thesis explores how responsibility is attributed, deflected, or individualized, and how political legitimacy is maintained or challenged. The findings indicate that journalistic discourse link the case to national security and democratic values, while government representatives frame the issue as a private family matter, thereby limiting political accountability. The analysis demonstrates how competing discourses negotiate the limits of political responsibility and contribute to shaping public understandings of legitimacy in times of political controversy.