At the intersection between power and knowledge: An analysis of a Swedish policy document on language testing for citizenship

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Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse a policy document in which the Swedish Liberal Party attempts to substantiate the proposal to introduce a Swedish language test for naturalisation by referring to academic production. Taking this specific text as a case in point, the article draws upon Critical Discourse Analysis and Foucault's notion of governmentality to show how the rationalisation and legitimation of a particular political proposal is inextricably related to processes of knowledge production. Governmentality will also allow us to understand that language requirements for citizenship are a tangible manifestation of an advanced liberal political rationality in late modernity.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)287-304
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Language and Politics
Volume8
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • History
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Linguistics and Language

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