Skärpta medborgarskapskrav och segregation : En WPR analys av SOU 2025:1 i relation till regeringens direktiv

Sammanfattning

This thesis examines how segregation is represented in SOU 2025:1 Skärpta krav för svenskt medborgarskap in relation to the Swedish Government's directive on stricter resquirements for acquiring Swedish cittizenship. In recent years, Swedish cittizenship policy has been shaped by proposals for longer residence periods, higher requrirements for language and civic knowledge, and stronger demands for ecnomci self sufficiency. These reforms are presented as ways to strengthen the value of citizenship and to promote integration, but they also raise questions about exclusion, inequality and belonging. The aim of the study is to analyse how segregation is represented in SOU 2025:1 and how this problem representation relates to the Government's directive. The analysis guided by Carol Bacchi's What's the Problem Represented to Be? approach and is supported by theories of political and cocial citizenship, especially T. H. Marshall's framework, together with perspectives on structural inequality. The emprirical material consists primarily of SOU 2025:1, the Government directive Dir. 2023: 129, the Government bill on stricter citizenship requirements, and a complementary memorandum on self sufficiency. The findings show that segregation is mainly represented as a consequence of insufficient integration at the individual level. Responsibility is placed on lanuage prodiciency, self sufficiency, adaptation and orderly conduct, while structural factors such as social inequality, housing segregation and unequal access to resources are given less space in the problem formulation. The study argues that this way of representing the problem risks weakening the inclusive function of citizenship and my contribute to reduced political and social participation for some groups. The conclusion is that segregation cannot be understood only throuhg individual requirements, but must also be analysed in relation to broader structural conditions in society.