Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

In 2014, the Swedish Prime Minister asked the citizens to 'open their hearts' due to the ongoing refugee crisis. However, a discursive shift has somehow occurred within the Swedish policy debate, whereby the '(im)migrant' now is constructed as a potential security threat. By combining the theoretical framework of 'security unbound' with a discourse analysis, this study presents an outlining of the discourses among different societal actors relating to the areas of terrorism, violent extremism and organized crime, with the aim of identifying conditions that potentially have enabled this shift. One of the main findings concern the identification of several verbal and non-verbal associations between the master signifier the '(im)migrant' and the different areas of interest. Additionally, the reliance on statistical data, in combination with the distinction made between individuals according to their 'descent', opens up for the creation of risk-profiles and the presentation of data that define 'immigrants' as a higher 'risk' in terms of the issues examined. Furthermore, and with inspiration from the concept 'autoimmunity', one of the conclusions reached is that the very articulation of '(im)migration' as a 'threat' actually may (re)produce and exacerbate some of the issues considered as important in terms of Swedish security.