Baker, Catherine.. The contingencies of whiteness: Gendered/racialized global dynamics of security narratives. Security Dialogue, 52(1_suppl), 2021, 124–132.
Tag: security
Hervik, Peter. ‘Ten Years after the Danish Muhammad Cartoon News Stories: Terror and Radicalization as Predictable Media Events’. (2018) [PDF]
Hervik, Peter. ‘Ten Years after the Danish Muhammad Cartoon News Stories: Terror and Radicalization as Predictable Media Events’. Television & New Media, vol. 19, no. 2, Feb. 2018, pp. 146–154. SAGE Journals,
In the tenth year after Danish daily Jyllands-Posten published twelve cartoons, the Muhammad Cartoons, this media event—and the hegemonic understanding behind it—continues to be a discursive reference point for new controversies around national borders and racial boundaries. Then, since late 2010, radicalization as a “pre-terrorist” phase has become the lens through which the category “Muslims” has been represented in much media coverage. In this article, I argue that the dominant hegemonic understanding in Denmark that is based on a certain spatial–racial logic is not a passive production of knowledge. It keeps informing news coverage of media events as terror and thereby risking describing the hegemony more than adequately understanding the events at hand.
PDF: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1527476417707582.
Jacobsen, Malene H. ‘The Everyday Spaces of Humanitarian Migrants in Denmark.’ (2013) [PDF]
Jacobsen, Malene H. The Everyday Spaces of Humanitarian Migrants in Denmark. MA Thesis. University of Kentucky.
Through an analysis of the Danish Immigration Law and asylum system, this research illustrates how the Danish state through state practices and policies permeates and produces the everyday space of humanitarian migrants. Furthermore, it examines how humanitarian migrants experience their everyday life in the Danish asylum system. An examination of state practices in conjunction with humanitarian migrants’ narratives of space and everyday practices, offers an opportunity to explore what kind of politics and political subjectivities that can emerge in the space of humanitarian migrants. This research contribute to our understanding of first, how the securitization of migration has direct impact on the everyday life of humanitarian migrants, second, second, how the state through practices and space governs and de-politicizes humanitarian migrants, and third, humanitarian migrants are able to act politically. Furthermore, this research problematizes the categorization of humanitarian migrants as “asylum seeker” in order to illustrate how the group of humanitarian migrants is a very diverse group of people from different places with various skills and education-, social-, and economic backgrounds. Even though “asylum seekers” are often portrayed as a homogenous group of vulnerable people we cannot assume that these people understand themselves as vulnerable docile “asylum seekers”.
PDF: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=geography_etds.
Agius, Christine. ‘Drawing the Discourses of Ontological Security: Immigration and Identity in the Danish and Swedish Cartoon Crises’. (2017)
Agius, Christine. ‘Drawing the Discourses of Ontological Security: Immigration and Identity in the Danish and Swedish Cartoon Crises’. Cooperation and Conflict, vol. 52, no. 1, SAGE Publications Ltd, Mar. 2017, pp. 109–125.
The controversy of the Danish cartoon crisis in 2006 overshadowed a similar one that took place in Sweden a year later. The crises have broadly been framed as a clash of values but both cases reveal differences worthy of investigation, namely for the complex tensions and convergences between the two states on questions of immigration, Nordic solidarity and national identity. This article aims to explore the intersubjective discourses of identity that were threaded through the debates on the cartoon crises, looking to the overlapping discourses that have constructed ideas of identity in terms of ontological security, or security of the self. It argues that both cartoon crises represent a complex discursive performance of identity that speaks to a broader set of ontological security concerns which intersect at the international, regional and national levels. Even in their differences, Swedish and Danish discourses show the tensions associated with the desire for a stable and consistent idea of self when contrasted with the Muslim ‘other’, explored in the context of discourses of modernity and tolerance, which operate as key sites that work to reiterate, reclaim and reinstate the idea of the progressive state.
Keskinen, Suvi, Mari Toivanen, and Unnur Dís Skaptadóttir. Undoing homogeneity in the Nordic region: migration, difference and the politics of solidarity. (2019) [PDF]
Keskinen, Suvi, Mari Toivanen, and Unnur Dís Skaptadóttir. Undoing homogeneity in the Nordic region: migration, difference and the politics of solidarity. 2019.
This book critically engages with dominant ideas of cultural homogeneity in the Nordic countries and contests the notion of homogeneity as a crucial determinant of social cohesion and societal security. Showing how national identities in the Nordic region have developed historically around notions of cultural and racial homogeneity, it exposes the varied histories of migration and the longstanding presence of ethnic minorities and indigenous people in the region that are ignored in dominant narratives. With attention to the implications of notions of homogeneity for the everyday lives of migrants and racialised minorities in the region, as well as the increasing securitisation of those perceived not to be part of the homogenous nation, this volume provides detailed analyses of how welfare state policies, media, and authorities seek to manage and govern cultural, religious, and racial differences. With studies of national minorities, indigenous people and migrants in the analysis of homogeneity and difference, it sheds light on the agency of minorities and the intertwining of securitisation policies with notions of culture, race, and religion in the government of difference. As such it will appeal to scholars and students in social sciences and humanities with interests in race and ethnicity, migration, postcolonialism, Nordic studies, multiculturalism, citizenship, and belonging.
Table of contents: 1. Narrations of Homogeneity, Waning Welfare States, and the Politics of Solidarity Part 1: Histories of Homogeneity and Difference 2. Forgetting Diversity? Norwegian Narratives of Ethnic and Cultural Homogeneity 3. Myths of Ethnic Homogeneity: The Danish Case 4. Finnish Media Representations of the Sámi in the 1960s and 1970s Part 2: Governing and Negotiating Differences 5. Knowledge about Roma and Travellers in Nordic Schools: Paradoxes, Constraints, and Possibilities 6. Problematising the Urban Periphery: Discourses on Social Exclusion and Suburban Youth in Sweden 7. Welfare Chauvinism at the Margins of Whiteness: Young Unemployed Russian-Speakers’ Negotiations of Worker-Citizenship in Finland 8. Starry Starry Night: Fantasies of Homogeneity in Documentary Films about Kvens and Norwegian-Pakistanis Part 3: Questioned Homogeneity and Securitisation 9. From Welfare to Warfare: Exploring the Militarisation of the Swedish Suburb 10. “Living in fear”—Bulgarian and Romanian Street Workers’ Experiences With Aggressive Public and Private Policing 11. A ‘Muslim’ Response to the Narrative of the Enemy Within 12. Being Unknown: The Securitisation of Asylum Seekers in Iceland
Kinnvall, Catarina, and Paul Nesbitt-Larking. ‘The Political Psychology of (de)Securitization: Place-Making Strategies in Denmark, Sweden, and Canada’. (2010) [PDF]
Kinnvall, Catarina, and Paul Nesbitt-Larking. ‘The Political Psychology of (de)Securitization: Place-Making Strategies in Denmark, Sweden, and Canada’. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, vol. 28, no. 6, Dec. 2010, pp. 1051–1070.
In this article we demonstrate how both state structures and collective agencies contribute to patterns of securitization and, in so doing, reconfigure conceptions of space and place. Focusing on the life-chances of Muslim minority populations in Denmark, Sweden, and Canada, we begin by establishing how experiences of empire and colonization have shaped dominant regimes of citizenship and multiculturalism. Analyzing responses to the Danish newspaper publication of the `Mohammed cartoons’, we illustrate the dynamics of place making that are operative in the political psychology of securitization. Our analysis illustrates the cosmopolitical and dialogical character of Canadian multiculturalism and how such a regime facilitates a politics of space that is distinct from the cartographies of imperialism that inform place making in Denmark and, to a lesser extent, Sweden.
doi:10.1068/d13808.
Koefoed, Lasse. ‘Majority and Minority Nationalism in the Danish Post-Welfare State’. (2015) [PDF]
Koefoed, Lasse. ‘Majority and Minority Nationalism in the Danish Post-Welfare State’. Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography, vol. 97, no. 3, Sept. 2015, pp. 223–232.
The future of the nation and the Danish welfare state is one of the most important political issues today. The transition in neoliberal governance from welfare state to security state, the ongoing securitization of global and European mobility, the restructuring of public services and the re-scaling of political and economic power has made the debate around the welfare state central. In this article I take an approach to the welfare nation state that is based on the practices and narratives of everyday life. The argument is that narrative practices in everyday life constitute a central sphere inviting studies of the struggle over the welfare community and meaning. The empirical material draws on two recent research projects that include narratives and perspectives from minority and majority population in Denmark. By analysing different perspectives on the nation the article intends to open up for both shared narratives on the welfare state but also differences in the ongoing struggle over the right to the nation.
doi:10.1111/geob.12077.
PDF: https://rucforsk.ruc.dk/ws/files/60402615/GAB201309_7final_7.pdf.
Lemberg-Pedersen, Martin. ‘Security, industry and migration in European border control’. (2018)
Lemberg-Pedersen, Martin. ‘Security, industry and migration in European border control’. The Routledge Handbook of the Politics of Migration in Europe, Ed. Weinar, 2018. vbn.aau.dk,
Lindekilde, Lasse, and Mark Sedgwick. Impact of Counter-Terrorism on Communities: Denmark Background Report. (2012) [PDF]
Lindekilde, Lasse, and Mark Sedgwick. Impact of Counter-Terrorism on Communities: Denmark Background Report. London: Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2012, p. 73.
This report provides background information for understanding and assessing the impact and effectiveness of Danish counter-terrorism and counter-radicalisation policies on minority ethno-cultural communities, in particular Muslim ones. The report contextualises questions of impact – positive as well as negative – in Denmark in terms of the demographic/socio-economic profile of immigrants; general perceptions of threats from terrorism and perceptions of discrimination experienced by minorities; the legal framework of counter-terrorism; policies of radicalisation prevention and their implementation in practice; key institutional structures of counter-terrorism and division of labour; high profile terrorist court-cases; and developments in the general political climate and public discourse regarding issues of ‘integration’ and security.
Midtbøen, Arnfinn H. ‘Dual Citizenship in an Era of Securitisation:: The Case of Denmark’. (2019) [PDF]
Midtbøen, Arnfinn H. ‘Dual Citizenship in an Era of Securitisation:: The Case of Denmark’. Nordic Journal of Migration Research, vol. 1, no. ahead-of-print, Apr. 2019.
When Denmark surprisingly accepted dual citizenship in 2015, the decision reflected as possible and success-oriented application, insights and profits without the two distinct lines of argument: first, accepting dual citizenship would allow Danes living abroad to keep reference to the arguments developed around 1900. The main investigation also their Danish citizenship; second, because it is considered illegitimate to make people stateless, allowing includes the period between the entry into force and the presentation in its current dual citizenship would simultaneously allow for citizenship revocation of dual citizens who engage in or version. Their function as part of the literary portrayal and narrative technique. support acts of terror. This rationale stands in striking contrast to how dual citizenship has been previously theorised. The gradual acceptance of dual citizenship in Western countries since the early 1990s has been seen either as a symptom of a post-national era or as a pragmatic adjustment to the transnational realities of international migration. By contrast, the case of Denmark shows that dual citizenship may serve as a Dedicated to Paul Placeholder lever to protect the political community of the nation-state from terrorism and, as such, function as a tool of securitisation.
PDF: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332459681_Dual_Citizenship_in_an_Era_of_Securitisation
Nielsen, Asta Smedegaard. ‘De vil os stadig til livs’: betydningskonstruktioner i tv-nyhedsformidling om terrortruslen mod Danmark. (2014) [PDF]
Nielsen, Asta Smedegaard. ‘De vil os stadig til livs’: betydningskonstruktioner i tv-nyhedsformidling om terrortruslen mod Danmark. PhD afhandling. Det Humanistiske Fakultet, Københavns Universitet, 2014.
Med udgangspunkt i et perspektiv på terrortruslen mod Danmark som et diskursivt og oplevet fænomen udforskes de betydningskonstruktioner, der skabes i public service-medierne DR1 og TV2’s tv-nyhedsformidling om truslen, med særligt fokus på konstruktioner af racial, national og etnisk enshed og forskel. I afhandlingen analyseres nyhedsudsendelser og interviews med journalister. Heri identificeres blandt andet en racialisering af terror som et potentiale hos især unge mænd, der ’ser muslimske eller mellemøstlige ud’. Gennem en kontrastering af terrortruslen med den norske 22. juli-terror i 2011, viser afhandlingen desuden, at dette billede af terrorpotentialet ikke ændres af, at et terrorangreb i Danmarks nærområde viser sig at bryde med forventningerne til, hvorfra terrortruslen kommer og med hvilket motiv. Således er det en af afhandlingens væsentlige konklusioner, at forestillingen om truslen fra terror i højere grad er med til at forme vores forståelse af verden, end terroren i sig selv er. Dette indebærer en forflyttelse, hvor en forestillet forudgående muslimsk religiøsitet snarere end terroren i sig selv kommer til at optræde som det, der gøres til genstand for opmærksomhed i bestræbelserne til at forstå og bekæmpe terrortruslen. Afhandlingen lægger vægt på betydningen af ’race’ i disse betydningskonstruktioner, idet analyserne peger på, at Breiviks hvidhed havde væsentlig betydning for den individualisering, der skete af ham og hans terror.
PDF: https://vbn.aau.dk/files/261643924/Ph.d._2014_Smedegaard.pdf. https://vbn.aau.dk/files/261643924/Ph.d._2014_Smedegaard.pdf.
Rytter, Mikkel, and Marianne Holm Pedersen. ‘A Decade of Suspicion: Islam and Muslims in Denmark after 9/11’. (2014)
Rytter, Mikkel, and Marianne Holm Pedersen. ‘A Decade of Suspicion: Islam and Muslims in Denmark after 9/11’. Ethnic & Racial Studies, vol. 37, no. 13, Dec. 2014, pp. 2303–2321.
In 2011, al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, was killed in Pakistan and the US president, Barack Obama, concluded a decade of global ‘war against terror’. In light of this, it seems only sensible to explore what implications the post-9/11 international developments have had on a local basis in specific national contexts. With this in mind, this article focuses on Denmark and discusses how the critical event of 9/11 motivated a security/integration response, including various pre-emptive measures that have cast the Muslim population as the usual suspects. It will discuss how these changes have affected the everyday lives of ordinary Danish Muslims over the last ten years and changed the relationship between majorities and minorities. Finally, it will also examine how and why recent national and international events have created the potential for another shift in majority–minority relations.
Gad, Ulrik Pram. ‘From Flip-Flopping Stereotypes to Desecuritizing Hybridity: Muslims as Threats and Security Providers in Danish Broadcast Drama Series’. (2017) [PDF]
Gad, Ulrik Pram. ‘From Flip-Flopping Stereotypes to Desecuritizing Hybridity: Muslims as Threats and Security Providers in Danish Broadcast Drama Series’. European Journal of Cultural Studies, vol. 20, no. 4, Aug. 2017, pp. 433–448.
Muslims are making their way into filmed entertainment in Hollywood and Europe. Critical reception has uniformly acclaimed the quantitative progress, however, disagreeing on the quality of the representation. One position laments how the increased representation of diversity is structured by negative stereotypes; another is encouraged by how the very same stereotypes are ironically taken to extremes. Bearing in mind the intimate relation between identity and security, however, the stereotypical representation of difference is never innocent. The overall narratives of Danish public service broadcast series such as The Killing, Government and The Protectors rely on stereotypical security policy narratives identifying Muslims as threats. Even when stereotypes are creatively articulated to reverse the negative valuation, Muslim roles are distinctly charged or ‘securitized’ when compared to non-Muslim roles. However, placing the ‘Muslim’ character centre stage allows a separate level of representation of a distinct role in the way stories articulate stereotypes, facilitating hybrid identities.
Agius, Christine. ‘Performing Identity: The Danish Cartoon Crisis and Discourses of Identity and Security’ (2013) [PDF]
Agius, Christine. ‘Performing Identity: The Danish Cartoon Crisis and Discourses of Identity and Security’. Security Dialogue, vol. 44, no. 3, June 2013, pp. 241–258.
The Danish cartoon crisis, which attracted international media attention in 2006, has largely been debated as an issue of freedom of speech, feeding into broader debates about the ‘clash of civilizations’. This article aims to explore the dominant discourses that performed a seemingly stable and consistent Danish identity at the domestic and external levels. Domestically, the discourse of a progressive Danish identity under threat from unmodern others was performed via discourses of a ‘culture struggle’ and a restrictive immigration policy designed to keep intact a narrow definition of Danishness. Externally, Danish identity and security was performed and defended via participation in the ‘war on terror’, democracy promotion and overseas development assistance, which became tools that were not simply associated with security in the liberal sense but also contained a spatial dimension designed to keep consistent the image of the complete nation-state. By adopting a discursive approach, the article aims to explore the performance of Danish identity that animated the cartoon crisis in order to highlight the complexities and contestations that animate ideas of self.
PDF: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0967010613485871