Migration as a national threat : A study about how the migration question is securitized in Sweden

The Swedish government made a turnaround regarding its former generous migration policy in the end of 2015. This thesis examines one of the Swedish governments proposals, “Särskilda åtgärder vid allvarlig fara för den allmänna ordningen och inre säkerheten i landet (2015/16:67)” through the theory of securitization. The study finds that the Swedish Government contemplates that the increased amount of migrations to Sweden is a challenge towards Sweden’s societal structures and therefore an existential threat to Sweden’s national security. In order to protect the national security and societal structures from the threat, the Swedish Government proposed for the need of ID-checks, which the Swedish parliament passed as a law. The conclusion of this paper is therefore that the Swedish Government securitizes the migration question by arguing that the amount of migrants is an existential threat to Sweden’s national security