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This thesis examines how Swedish political parties have discursively constructed crisis, security,and social protection in party manifestos between 2014 and 2022. Drawing on an integrativeanalytical framework that combines Critical Discourse Analysis, crisis theory, and normalisationtheory, the study analyses how language functions as both a medium and a mechanism ofideological change during periods of heightened uncertainty.

Using a longitudinal thematic discourse-analytical approach, the thesis investigates how partiesframe and prioritise key policy areas related to migration, security, and healthcare; how discursiveand rhetorical strategies are employed to construct meaning, assign responsibility, and legitimisepolitical responses; and how these shifts reflect processes of discursive normalisation andideological boundary change. The analysis focuses on manifestos from the Sweden Democrats(SD), the Social Democrats (S), and the Left Party (V), capturing variation across challenger,mainstream, and left-oppositional positions within the Swedish party system.

The findings demonstrate a progressive reorganisation of Swedish political discourse in whichsecurity and preparedness emerge as central organising logics across policy domains. Crisisrhetoric becomes a structuring feature rather than an episodic response, shaping how welfare,migration, and social order are articulated. While discursive convergence occurs at the level ofissue linkage and rhetorical expectations, ideological divergence persists in how parties definethreats, responsibility, and legitimate protection. The thesis contributes to research on politicalcommunication and ideological transformation by showing how crisis-driven discourse reshapesthe boundaries of legitimate political speech without erasing ideological conflict.