Privat rikedom i utvecklingens tjänst: En kritisk diskursanalys av Gates Foundations syn på utveckling

Sammanfattning: The purpose with the thesis is to critically analyze the Gates Foundation’s understanding of development. The author uses a critical discourse analysis inspired by Norman Fairclough, and the material is collected from the foundation’s website. The theory consists of four parts. First, the linguistic aspects of the material are examined. Second, the discursive practice of the foundation is understood. Next, the discursive practice is compared to the overarching discourse order, which consists of six discourses on development. Finally the discursive practice is compared to society’s social structure, which is based on theories of globalization, governance and neoliberal markets. The analysis shows that the Gates Foundation has a tendency to describe development as a process without any conflicts. Their discursive practice is mostly influenced by the discourses of modernization and neoliberalism, with certain influences from human development and alternative theory. In relation to society’s overarching structure, Gates Foundation reproduces its structure as the texts advocate governance and neoliberalism. Hence, the conclusion can be made that the foundation represents an uncritical understanding of development, as the radical discourses are missing and no form of conflict is portrayed.