Depoliticising political violence: state-centric and individualised discourses in the Norwegian counterterrorism policy field

Abstract

Over the past decades, emerging focus has been on how teachers in Norway can foster citizenship in their classrooms to strengthen democracy. Yet, in conjunction with rising concerns of homegrown terrorism, a new curriculum in Norway draws on democratic education as a bulwark against terrorism. This paper explores the securitisation of the Norwegian educational domain. We analysed three counterterrorism policy documents to explicate the governance of security in school. Analyses of terrorism discourses show a depoliticised and individualised representation in the Norwegian security policy field. These discourses are accompanied by growing urgency where educators are expected to be vigilant towards presumed vulnerable students and report concerns to relevant authorities. This article provides new insight into what security expectations are placed on educators in Norway and their potential consequences for pedagogical practice.