Bachelor thesis Segregation & territorial stigma - A case study of Botkyrka municipality, Stockholm Author: Tobias Persson Supervisor: Chris High Examiner: Manuela Nilsson Term: HT20 Subject: Peace & Development Level: Bachelor Course code: 2FU33E Abstract Segregation is increasing in Sweden, and the political discourse about violence in Swedish suburbs have intensified dramatically throughout the last years. Segregated areas are often described as dangerous areas with a lot of insecurities. In this paper, I´m going to present a case study of Botkyrka municipality which is in south Stockholm. The purpose of this study is to see if media and political discourse is stigmatising Botkyrka or not. By interviewing people living in Botkyrka, I get their perspective of living in Botkyrka municipality. This case study can be an exemplifying a case study of suburbs in Stockholm as the discourse can be similar to other suburbs in Stockholm. This case study is following an abductive qualitative approach using theories as neighbourhood-effect, segregation and territorial stigma to answer the research questions “Does the image of Botkyrka municipality presented by political actors and media create territorial stigmatization of Botkyrka municipality?” and “What are Botkyrka municipality as organization doing to decrease segregation, and what are their biggest challenges in their work?” Interviews are conducted both randomly in chosen areas and in-depth interviews with chosen respondents. Findings from this case study show that certain areas of Botkyrka is stigmatized, that citizens in Botkyrka refer to some areas as dangerous, which is also presented in political discourse and media, as events taking place in these areas are referred to Botkyrka, it creates territorial stigma of Botkyrka municipality. As some neighborhoods in Botkyrka is affected more negatively by school segregation, youth in these areas face higher risk of getting excluded from the society and fall into a destructive way of living, as influences among youth living in low-economic neighbourhoods are strong predictors of negative behaviours, such as drug abuse, crime and participation in the job market. Territorial stigma and the neighbourhood-effect becomes obstacles in the work of decreasing segregation, further, inequality is an obstacle in the work of decreasing segregation. The unequal access to different key resources as housing, education and jobs are great challenges in process of decreasing segregation. Keywords: Segregation, Political discourse, Violence, Suburbs, Media, Botkyrka, Case study, Challenges, Stigmatising, Exemplifying, Criminal gangs, Car burnings, Shootings. 1 Table of contents 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1. Segregation in Sweden ................................................................................................................. 4 1.2. Consequences of segregation ....................................................................................................... 4 1.3. Research problem ......................................................................................................................... 5 1.4. Relevance ..................................................................................................................................... 7 1.5. Objective ...................................................................................................................................... 7 1.6. Research questions ....................................................................................................................... 8 1.7. Structure ....................................................................................................................................... 8 2. Literature review ................................................................................................................................. 9 3. Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 12 3.1. Abductive approach .................................................................................................................... 12 3.2. Case study................................................................................................................................... 13 3.3. Botkyrka municipality ................................................................................................................ 14 3.4. Interviews ................................................................................................................................... 14 3.5. randomly selected interviews ..................................................................................................... 15 3.6. In depth interviews ..................................................................................................................... 15 3.7. Discussion of sources ................................................................................................................. 16 3.8. Limitations.................................................................................................................................. 16 3.9. Ethical considerations ................................................................................................................. 16 4. Analytical frameworks ...................................................................................................................... 18 4.1. Thematic analysis ....................................................................................................................... 18 4.2. Theoretical framework ............................................................................................................... 19 4.2.1. Territorial stigma .............................................................................................................. 19 4.2.2. Neighbourhood-effect ........................................................................................................ 20 4.2.3. Segregation ......................................................................................................................... 21 5. Results ............................................................................................................................................... 21 5.1. Fieldwork.................................................................................................................................... 21 5.2. Findings ...................................................................................................................................... 22 5.2.1. Dwellers worldview of living in Botkyrka municipality ................................................. 22 5.2.2. Safety in Botkyrka municipality ...................................................................................... 23 5.2.3. Car burnings criminal activities in Botkyrka ..................................................................... 24 5.2.4. Outside image of Botkyrka ............................................................................................... 25 5.2.5. Live in Botkyrka or outside Botkyrka ............................................................................. 26 2 5.3. The work of Botkyrka municipality and their main challenges ................................................. 26 5.3.1. A Sustainable Botkyrka .................................................................................................... 27 5.3.2. Botkyrka, our place ........................................................................................................... 27 5.3.3 Education is the basis of Botkyrka .................................................................................... 28 5.3.4 Together for cohesion and democracy in Botkyrka ........................................................ 29 5.3.5 Collaboration with the government .................................................................................. 30 6. Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 31 6.1. Themes ....................................................................................................................................... 31 6.1.1. Home ................................................................................................................................... 31 6.1.2. Territorial areas................................................................................................................. 31 6.1.3. Media .................................................................................................................................. 32 6.1.4. People moving out.............................................................................................................. 32 6.1.5. Bad reputation ................................................................................................................... 32 6.1.6. Trust ................................................................................................................................... 33 6.1.7. School segregation ............................................................................................................. 33 6.2. Is Botkyrka municipality stigmatised? ......................................................................................