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Coexistence or (green) colonialism? A narrative analysis of the disputed mining project in Rönnbäcken

Andersson, Tilda LU (2024) STVM25 20241
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Increasing demands for the green transition have created an ethical dilemma: How can the extraction of critical minerals be combined with protection of Indigenous rights and local ecosystems? Is it even possible to find solutions to the conflicts that emerge in “green” energy projects? Contributing to these debates, this thesis set out to answer the following question: How can we understand pro- and anti-mining narratives adopted in the mining project in Rönnbäcken (2013-2024) from a postcolonial-ecocritical perspective? By conducting a narrative analysis of newspaper articles and other text sources, this thesis found that pro-mining narratives in Rönnbäcken were largely centered around ideas of extractive exceptionalism, green growth and,... (More)
Increasing demands for the green transition have created an ethical dilemma: How can the extraction of critical minerals be combined with protection of Indigenous rights and local ecosystems? Is it even possible to find solutions to the conflicts that emerge in “green” energy projects? Contributing to these debates, this thesis set out to answer the following question: How can we understand pro- and anti-mining narratives adopted in the mining project in Rönnbäcken (2013-2024) from a postcolonial-ecocritical perspective? By conducting a narrative analysis of newspaper articles and other text sources, this thesis found that pro-mining narratives in Rönnbäcken were largely centered around ideas of extractive exceptionalism, green growth and, to a lesser extent, environmental justice. Anti-mining narratives, on the other hand, were mainly rooted in ideas of environmental justice, and to some extent also human-nonhuman interdependency. These narratives were further understood as sites of colonial and anthropocentric power and resistance. The findings indicate that the conflict in Rönnbäcken concerns fundamental differences in how Rönnbäcken, both the area and the project, is ought to be interpreted. Any attempt to find solutions to the conflicts must thus first address these differences, as well as the power relations embedded in the conflict. (Less)
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author
Andersson, Tilda LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVM25 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
postcolonial ecocriticism, narrative analysis, power, green transition, Sámi rights
language
English
id
9153063
date added to LUP
2024-07-18 14:01:44
date last changed
2024-07-18 14:01:44
@misc{9153063,
  abstract     = {{Increasing demands for the green transition have created an ethical dilemma: How can the extraction of critical minerals be combined with protection of Indigenous rights and local ecosystems? Is it even possible to find solutions to the conflicts that emerge in “green” energy projects? Contributing to these debates, this thesis set out to answer the following question: How can we understand pro- and anti-mining narratives adopted in the mining project in Rönnbäcken (2013-2024) from a postcolonial-ecocritical perspective? By conducting a narrative analysis of newspaper articles and other text sources, this thesis found that pro-mining narratives in Rönnbäcken were largely centered around ideas of extractive exceptionalism, green growth and, to a lesser extent, environmental justice. Anti-mining narratives, on the other hand, were mainly rooted in ideas of environmental justice, and to some extent also human-nonhuman interdependency. These narratives were further understood as sites of colonial and anthropocentric power and resistance. The findings indicate that the conflict in Rönnbäcken concerns fundamental differences in how Rönnbäcken, both the area and the project, is ought to be interpreted. Any attempt to find solutions to the conflicts must thus first address these differences, as well as the power relations embedded in the conflict.}},
  author       = {{Andersson, Tilda}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Coexistence or (green) colonialism? A narrative analysis of the disputed mining project in Rönnbäcken}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}