Är barnets bästa något annat än barnets delaktighet och respekt för barnets frihetsrättigheter?: En kritisk diskursanalys för att förstå statens och riksdagens språk om barnets bästa

Abstract

The best interest of the child is a concept clearly expressed in Swedish legal texts. However, there are still challenges in the Swedish welfare system that lead to neglect and violations of children's rights. This thesis examines how the Swedish government and parliament dealt with the concept of the best interest of the child before and after its incorporation into the Convention on the Rights of the Child, focusing on children's participation in the decision-making process concerning them. In this regard, the state's public investigations, proposals, follow-up motions, and Sweden's periodic reports to the UN committee were analyzed using Fairclough's three-dimensional model to determine how the best interest of the child is constructed and shown in the text. To understand the political and ideological consequences and power relations and to realize the goal of critical discourse analysis, social constructionism theory was needed. Since the essay also aims to find a basis for a common understanding of the concept's interpretation, the socio-cultural theory of development was used, which naturally led to a focus on the concept of the “child’s perspective” in the analysis. The results of this research indicate that the government has the most power in the field of determining the best interest of the child. Although the government aims to promote child interests by incorporating the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it still lacks the political will to define this concept clearly and empower children effectively. On the other hand, power dynamics prevent reforms in the understanding and interpretation of this concept in social structures and creating a balance in times of conflict of interests. Since social structures, including the interpretation of the best interest of the child, change over time based on norms and prevailing power, sociocultural development theory, which aligns with the child's perspective and freedom rights, appears well-suited to adapt according to the child's needs at different times. By starting from the child's perspective, the concept of the child's best interests can be freed from its previous social construction. In this context, sociocultural development theory closely aligns with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and can help foster a common understanding on defining the child's best interests as a legal rule that prescribes a specific action, rather than as a legal principle.