From welfare to warfare

Abstract

The chapter foregrounds the process of militarisation of the Swedish suburbs, of the Million Program, which have largely been framed through racialised representations of criminality, violence, and vulnerability. Drawing on Gilmore (2007) , we discuss the shift from Keynesian workfare state to a Keynesian militarised warfare state, which normalises control and surveillance and supports a culture of impunity. We demonstrate how the processes of militarisation in Sweden works in tandem with practices, processes, technologies, and assemblages of securitisation at various socio-spatial scales. The prevailing environment of distrust, fear, and suspicion on the one hand, together with lack of belief in the institutional legitimacy of state institutions, reinforces a democratic deficit, erodes spaces of political deliberation, and devalues local voices in public discourse. Drawing on in-depth interviews with residents, representatives from local authorities, including police officers, real-estate establishments, and civil society organizations, together with official reports and media narratives, we attempt to illustrate the embodied experiences of militarisation in the Järva region in Stockholm.

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