Abstract
Since the 1990s, the idea of “mobilization from below” has become a salient feature in Swedish debates on “multiethnic suburbs.” In this article, the idea of “mobilization from below” is analyzed in three different policy areas—democracy, urban, and education policy. Following Michel Foucault and his theories of power and governmentality, the ambition of “mobilizing multiethnic suburbs” is analyzed as particular “technologies of government” creating citizens as “active” and “responsible” subjects. In the urge to “activate” citizens, it is argued, a neoliberal agenda has gained momentum in Swedish politics, further emphasizing the role of individual responsibilities and initiatives against public arrangements and interventions.
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