Translating Neoliberalism : The European Social Fund and the Governing of Unemployment and Social Exclusion in Malmö, Sweden

Sammanfattning: This thesis is concerned with how the governing of unemployment and social exclusion is accomplished through labor market projects that are initiated, tailored, and co- financed by the European Social Fund. The aim is to map and problematize how such projects, as examples of neoliberal programs of government that promote social cohesion and combat unemployment amongst identified “ethnic others,” become operational and legitimized in the Swedish context through multiple acts of translation. By scrutinizing the discursive, calculative, and visual practices that constitute them, the thesis also considers some of the consequences of this way of governing as well as the larger political landscapes in which they function. Ultimately, the political problem that is addressed concerns how certain “truths” about unemployed “ethnic others” in Sweden are facilitated within and co- produced by the European Social Fund and the projects it sets in motion. It thereby calls into question practices that are legitimized in the name of diversity, inclusion, and tolerance. The analysis includes discussions about the multivalent relationship between colonial and neoliberal rationalities of government, as well as how compassion and pity function to legitimize certain practices of inclusion.