Hur framställs barnets bästa i LVU-domar?- En kvalitativ diskursanalys om maktspelet i LVU-domar

The aim of this study was to understand how “the best interest of the child” appears and is motivated in court judgments. The aim is furthermore to study different power discourses which are expressed in the process of LVU-placements in foster care, and how these different power discourses may affect the child. The method chosen for this study was qualitative discourse analysis of seven different LVU-cases from the administrative court of appeal (Swedish: Kammarrätten) in Sweden between 2013 to 2018. To analyse our result, we used a power theory from Foucault, and two different discourse analysis theories from Fairclough and Foucault. The study found that “the best interest of the child” is motivated in each case, but the different participating actors in the legal process have different interpretations of what the concept means. Furthermore, the study found that there is a power battle between the parents, the social welfare committee and the court. This power battle is expressed through resistance from the parents and exercise of power from both the social welfare committee and the court. The consequence of the power battle is that the children suffer from it, as it removes the focus from them onto the ongoing conflict