Act 140 as a securitization measure: A study on the shift from integration to repatriation in the Danish asylum system

The Danish asylum system has experienced radical changes during 2019 in regards to asylum and refugee rights with the right-wing governing coalition’s introduction of Act 140. Central to Act 140 is the repatriation philosophy that is carried out in practice with an increased focus on temporary residency of refugees within the Danish asylum system as opposed to permanency. Thus, social integration of refugees as a political objective is instead replaced with repatriation of refugees when the conditions in their country of origin are deemed as safe. Many war conditions, however, last up to 15 years, which means that refugees will be left with feelings of uncertainty for a long period of time, knowing that they are not supposed to make a permanent living in Denmark, which further influence the integration of refugees in areas of social, cultural and economic life. The aim of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of Act 140 initiated by the political right through an elaboration of the three parliamentary debates between the political left and right that preceded Act 140 in order to generate specific conclusions on the discourses that surrounds the legislation as well as the influence of securitization in the passing of Act 140. With a socio-legal point of departure using Fairclough’s model of Critical Discourse Analysis, Act 140 is identified as a securitization measure initiated by the political right. This thesis concludes that the Danish People’s Party plays a fundamental role in the discursive framing of refugees as a threat to Danish society that creates ‘them versus us’ politics by referring to parallel societies, oppression of women, and unemployment levels amongst refugees. The political right’s othering of refugees has led the passing of Act 140 with support from the Social Democrats, but with objection from other left-wing parties such as the Radical Left, Red Green Alliance and the Alternatives. The left wing parties that object to Act 140 argue that the legislation will not only increase poverty amongst refugees but will also be an inhibition for refugee’s possibilities of naturalization, gradual attainment of civil rights through social integration and thus the pursuit of equality within Danish society