Between Securitization and Counter-Securitization: Church of Sweden Opposing the Turn of Swedish Government Migration Policy

Abstract

Taking our point of departure in securitization theory the aim is to analyze how the Lutheran Church of Sweden responded when the Swedish Government in late autumn 2015 made a sudden halt to a previously generous posture towards refugees. Applying the concept of counter-securitization we demonstrate how the Archbishop, and other Church leaders, strongly contested this official policy shift, legitimating their standpoint by referring to a radical, cosmopolitan reading of the gospel. Employees and lay members were mobilized to support immigrants through protest, everyday service, consultation and lobbying. Articulating a view that securitization should not be reserved for cases of a perceived existential military threat is highly relevant for the debate about the role of religion and secularism. Securitization and counter-securitization appear as two complementary approaches, where the Church may stand up as a bulwark defending immigration rights in contradistinction to retrotopian and xenophobic interpretations of the gospel. We contribute to this field by illustrating how research should not be caught in a one-dimensional reading of ‘security’ and ‘securitization’, but has to be interpreted within a non-linear, non-binary framework, with a sensitive ear to different political, cultural, social and religious contexts, not forgetting the time dimension.