Det er din kultur, der er problemet! - Et kritisk blik på Dansk Folkepartis konstruktion af 'integration', 'kultur', 'synlige minoriteter' og 'etniske danskere'

摘要

In this extended essay I apply Norman Faircloughs Critical Discourse Analysis as a method to investigate how the terms ‘integration’ and ‘culture’ are constructed and interpreted by Dansk Folkeparti (DF) in four political texts. In this context, I intend to show how discourse contributes to the construction of social identities and relationships. The social identities include ‘visible minorities’ and ‘ethnic Danes’ (among these DF). My research results reveal that DF represents the term ‘culture’ as an explanation for behaviour. This specific interpretation of ‘culture’ reflects racist thoughts. A racist would classify human beings by their genes and would also be convinced that genes determine specific behaviour. Furthermore DF constructs the term ‘culture’ as a ‘problem’. This means that assimilation is the only solution to the ‘problem’. My research also showed that DF constructs ‘visible minorities’ as a separate group from ‘ethnic Danes’. Both ‘groups’ have specific cultural characteristics that are constructed as incompatible with each other. This results in a reproduction of two binary opposites, ‘us’ and ‘them’, which automatically create an asymmetric relationship between the majority and the minority. My research also revealed that nationalistic elements are reproduced quietly. Michael Billig defines the reproduction as banal nationalism. The nationality is constantly emphasized by small words like “we”, “they” and “Danish”. Furthermore DF tries to create national solidarity between ‘ethnic Danes’, but as Benedict Anderson has expressed with his path-breaking statement - the ‘nation’ is nothing more than a ‘imagined community’.