The usage of the word oligarch has been growing rapidly in Swedish newspapers since the fall of the Soviet Union. In this study, I will examine the way Swedish newspapers have been using the word, in what I asses as a biased way.     Previous research has shown that the word is applicable in a much wider space, and that other countries or parts of the world contains cases of oligarchs. The word oligarch is actually old, it comes from ancient Greece and its renowned philosophers, originally made up to describe when the power of a democracy lies in the hands of only a few. Today, it seems that the word has been heavily associated (almost exclusively), with Russian businessmen. Many whom made their fortune during the turmoil between the collapse of the Soviet Union and the republic of Russia switching from a communist economy to a capitalistic state.    There lies certain power in actions, as so in words. To misinterpret, applicate or to use words and situations with the intention of self-advocacy could be dangerous, especially when done so by a force capable of influencing the minds of the masses. The words we use affect our way of interpreting things, in turn, how people interpret, think and conversate about topics and such are called discourse. Critical discourse analysis works as a theory, or method to critically examine the ways that we discuss about these so-called discourses, and how the debate about the topics develop in our society.    Ultimately, by looking into the way three big and influential Swedish newspapers reported on the topic of oligarchs for almost thirty years, we will see how the discourse of the oligarchs develop. This study will work as an insight into the actual discourse and shed light on how institutions such as our news reporting need to be consistently checked in order to be held accountable before their presentation. It is important as it affects the way that we think and interact with each other. Ultimately, from a historical perspective, active discourses like these are things that can put dirty stains on our history. Instead of keeping them alive, we should remind ourselves of our preconceptions, to avoid further alienation amongst people.

Genom användning av diskursanalys ämnar denna studie besvara följande frågor: ”Hur framställs skillnaderna och likheterna mellan våld i nära relationer och hedersrelaterat våld, och hur betraktas de som olika fenomen?” samt ”Hur kan synen av olika kulturer påverkas genom att definiera våldet på olika sätt?”. För att besvara dessa frågor har 29 tidningsartiklar om våld i nära relationer och 61 artiklar om hedersrelaterat våld som skrivits i svenska dagstidningar mellan åren 2002 och 2021 samlats in. Dessa har sedan analyserats med hjälp av Laclaus och Mouffes diskursanalys. Analysen fokuserar på hur hedersrelaterat våld och våld i nära relationer presenteras i den mediala debatten. Utifrån analysen uppkom två diskurser: ”Det främmande våldet” samt ”Den mediala rapporteringen av distinktionen mellan olika våld”. Diskursanalysen tillhör det socialkonstruktivistiska perspektivet. Majoriteten av den tidigare forskningen berör det feministiska perspektivet. Dessa perspektiv brukas för att försöka förklara om det finns någon skillnad mellan nyhetsrapporteringen av hedersrelaterat våld och våld i nära relationer samt hur detta påverkar synen på icke-svenska kulturer. Studien klargör att det finns en skillnad på rapporteringen av hedersrelaterat våld och våld i nära relationer. Detta bidrar bland annat till att kunna särskilja olika grupper i samhället där etniska minoriteter framställs som främmande och oförmögen att kunna anpassa sig till det svenska samhället. / Through the application of discourse analysis, the purpose of this study is to answer the following questions: “How are the similarities and differences of domestic violence and honour-related violence portrayed, and in what ways are they viewed differently?” and “How can the perception of other cultures be affected by redefining the violence?”. To answer these questions, 29 news articles regarding domestic violence and 61 news articles regarding honour-related violence have been collected and then analysed with the help of Laclau’s and Mouffe’s discourse analysis. The analysis focuses on the way domestic violence and honour-related violence is portrayed in the journalistic space. Through this analysis, two discourses emerged: “The foreign violence” and “The distinction in portrayal of difference types on violence in the sphere of media”. Discourse analysis lies within the realm of social constructivism. Most prior research touches upon the feministic perspective. These perspectives are used in order to explain any difference in the reporting of honour-related violence and domestic violence in the media, and furthermore how it affects the regard of non-Swedish cultures. The study identified that there is a difference in the portrayal of honour-related violence and domestic violence in Swedish media. Ramifications include segregation, leading to the view that ethnic minorities are unable to conform to the structure of Swedish society at large.

Detta är en studie av hur ’äldre’ som språklig och social kategori samt åldrande som process konstrueras i tre sammanlänkade offentligheter. Avhandlingens övergripande syfte är att studera och kritiskt granska olika sätt varpå ’äldre’ som kategori förstås och representeras i relation till pågående omförhandlingar av innebörden i den senare delen av livet som livsfas. Valet av material har gjorts utifrån utgångspunkten att medierade offentligheters betydelse för bildandet och upprätthållandet av sociala och kollektiva identiteter, liksom deras roll som platser för diskussion om hur samhället ska organiseras, har ökat. Studien utgår från tre kontrasterande empiriska material; artiklar från dagstidningar, texter från ett pensionärsparti, och en offentlig utredning om den framtida svenska äldrepolitiken. Det studerade materialet är publicerat mellan 2002 och 2004 Genom att materialen analyseras som ingående i en dialog med varandra, ett offentligt samtal, synliggörs relationerna mellan olika konstruktioner. Skillnaderna mellan de olika materialen är betydande. Men analysen visar också på hur samma argument och föreställningar finns närvarande i alla tre offentligheter. Hur ’äldre’ som kategori konstrueras i de olika materialen är relaterat till olika föreställningar både om äldre människor och deras samhälleliga status, men också om samhället och nationen som en föreställd gemenskap. Studien visar bland annat att ’äldre’ är en kategori som det talas om, men inte till. Det är också sällan som ’äldre’ är en position det talas utifrån. I samklang med detta konstrueras kategorin som ett objekt för den nationella gemenskapens ansvar och omsorg. / This is a study of how ‘older people’ as a linguistic and social category, and ageing as a process, is constructed in three interrelated publics. The aim of the thesis is to study and critically investigate the different ways in which ‘older people’ as a category is understood and represented in relation to ongoing negotiations about the meaning of later life as a stage of life. The increased significance of mediated publics for the formation and maintenance of social and collective identities, as well as their role as spaces for deliberation on the organization of society, is a starting point for the study and has bearing on the choice of data. The study is based on three contrastive sets of empirical material; newspaper articles, texts from a pensioner’s party, and a government report on the future old age policy of Sweden. The studied texts were published during the period 2002 – 2004. The publics have been studied as in a dialogical relation with each other. This strategy highlights the relations between different constructions of the category. The differences between the publics are significant. At the same time the analysis also shows overlaps of arguments and in the way that the category is understood between the publics. The ways that ‘older people’ are constructed in the material is related to different notions about older people and their societal status. But also to ideas about society and the nation as an imagined community. The study shows, among other things, that ‘older people’ is a category that is spoken about, rather than to. ‘Older people’ rarely functions as a subject in the studied material. In relation to this, the category is constructed as an object for the care and responsibility of the national community.