Vem är 'rovdjuret'? : Rovpublicering inom ideologisk diskurs

This thesis critically examines the concept of "predatory publishing" through the ideological discourse developed in the writings of Jeffrey Beall. By situating Beall's work within a broader historical, political, and economic context of scholarly publishing, the study investigates how the concept functions as a discursive boundary marker that both reflects and reproduces structural inequalities in global academia. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of academic capitalism, academic imperialism, Foucault's power/knowledge and van Dijk's theory on ideology, the thesis explores how legitimacy, authority, and epistemic value are unevenly distributed across geopolitical lines. Through an ideological discourse analysis of Beall's texts, the study reveals how metaphors of decline and corruption racialize and spatialize the figure of the 'predator,' reinforcing hierarchies of knowledge production. Thus, rather than treating 'predatory' publishing as a neutral category, the thesis frames it as a politicized construct that legitimizes existing systems of exclusion under the guise of quality control. The findings call for a critical reassessment of the evaluative infrastructures that sustain these hierarchies. This is a two years master's thesis in Library and Information Science.