EU:s sociala diskurs i ett flernivåperspektiv

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this essay is to examine and evaluate a potential change in national discourse in Sweden due to the implementation of the European 2020-strategy. Through an analytical framework based on Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis, the Swedish national reform programmes between 2011 and 2020 is analysed from a welfare regime perspective. The thesis is inspired by previous research on the subject by sociologist Jean-Claude Barbier with a focus on the potential effects of the implementation of European Union soft law within the frame of social Europe and specifically the open method of coordination. Through. The paper sets out with a hypothesis that there has been a discourse shift of neoliberal character due to normative tendencies in the OMC framework. Through an analysis from a social democratic and liberal regime perspective, it is concluded that historical ideological discourses of the two major parties in Sweden are still held through the Swedish national reform programmes and because of a weak foundation of change towards a European discourse the hypothesis is not fulfilled.